(Floats out, body whole for the first time in months)
Hello everyone, hope you're having a great Friday. Well, it's been a week, and here's my delivery to you, may you enjoy it. AS for me, well, this recently flash cloned body that I've acquired is wonderful, if pricy. Now, I can finally do all the things I could before I was nuked into a pile of radioactive dust! (Yes, I am insane if anyone was wondering.)
Once again, special thanks to animedragongirl for beta reading this thing and catching the errors my obsolete W.P. does not.
To those of you who were so kind and left me your reviews:
Lunatic Pandora1- Thank you so much for the nanite blade idea, as it spawned a way for me to explain more about Kitetsu in the sequel, as well as Mar's Armor and Precursor equipment in general. As far as a lightsaber, is concerned, that's pretty much what the phantom copies of Kitetsu that Jak keeps creating from the original. As for Praxis, in hindsight I think he might have died a bit too quickly, thank you for pointing that out.
MariaShadow- Glad you liked the last chapter, but I am afraid you are going to have to wait just a might bit longer for the climatic showdown, as this leads up to it. However, id you have any suggestions or things that you would like to see in the final battle, pelase let me know. Thank you.
Exardas- Yeah, I was thinking about calling the showdown chapter 'Endgame' and I think that's what I'm going to go with now, thanks for helping out there. About the sequel, Jak will be thrown out the same way, and Damas (who will be altered just slightly in appearance so Jak will not recognize him) will indeed recognize his old blade, and temporarily relieve Jak of it, however, he gets it back in the first arena battle, in a manner that startles everyone not familiar with him.
PhiloWorm- Was thinking about an idea like that, except in involved more Channelers. The way it would work would be basically that in some of the rest of the world, Channelers are feared and reviled by the rest of society because the Metal Heads have this tendency to raze towns to the ground to try to find them. As a result there is a small community of about a hundred or so of them in hiding somewhere. As for the character, sure, let me know, as I need a 'Leader' for them.
SRHumphrey727- Thank you for your input, and I hope I pulled of the tearful death scene okay. You mentioned something about an e-mail, though, but I never received it, and I think it might be because my hotmail has been getting spammed of late, and I turned up the junkmail folder. I've tweaked it since then, so if you could resend it I should get it this time. Thanks.
Evil Manic- Thanks for the guns and whatnot. As for the Dark Eco Mist, that's sorta what Jak unleashed in Chapter Thirty. As for the spear thingy, that sounds like an alternate use for the Revenant's grappling hook (grins maniacally) and I thank you for that. Rest assured, there will also be flamethrowers used by one of the deathbot units, and that ripper seems to me that it would make a good Wastelander vehicle weapon. I'm also glad that you liked the chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one just as much.
Jetrex12- Glad you liked the chapter. As for the Light Eco User, I have been trying to think of something along those lines, but I can't seem to think of anything that would seem like a realistic improvement, any suggestions? As to your other question, yes, Veger will be dealt with in several ways that will be significantly more painful than what happened in the game. (For example, prior to Jak being hauled off, our 'friend' the count will make a comment about him in Keira that causes the mechanic to mangle him quite thoroughly and possibly cripple him for life when it comes to a certain body region)
DarkStarPhoenix- Thank you very much for the zoomer info, and for the mission idea. And Kage will be doing quite a bit of flying (such as in the glider mission, and to reach some out of the way areas, not to mention dive bombing in to save the day upon the return to Haven City. Hope you like this chapter too, I explain what the Channelers really are…and hopefully it isn't too cliché.
Farr2rich- Actually, I already thought of how the controls could be. During the first part they would be like they were normally, however, once Jak begins unlocking Channeling powers and using melee, I figured you could select which ability you had active via a R1 menu (kinda like Zone of the Enders) and different melee moves would be performed based upon the timing of the attack button (like Devil May Cry 3). As for the fight to the Metal Head Nest, there won't be very much, simply because their almost fully engaged at Haven City, but the battle between Jak and Kor is going to be big…trust me.
animedragongirl- Thank you for drawing the pics in the first place. (bows). As for the Light Eco User, read the part where Kor is talking at the construction sight very carefully, he points the person out with his language. I don't have an idea for the Ascended Form yet, though, any ideas? And thanks for the city name as well.
Light-Eco-Sage- Yes, they will be married by the start of the sequel, you may rejoice. As far as your internet is concerned, have you tried setting up a hotmail account at school or the like, they're free and generally reliable. And I hope you get your internet back up soon, too, as I want to see any updates for your stories that you've been working on in the meanwhile. Hope you like this chapter, and please let me know of any ideas that you have, thanks. (bows)
GoodMorningBeautiful2005- Glad you liked Praxis' end, and I assure you, there will be a sequel that I'll hopefully start posting within a month of the end of this story, Heaven willing. Hope you like this chapter too, and please let me know what you think.
To those of you who read but did not review, I hope that you have enjoyed it thus far, and that I have not somehow managed to traumatize you.
To all lawyers (who are so lame as to be cruising through here looking for lawsuits): I no own, if you do not realize this by now, you are in the wrong field, so go back to school and become something more productive.
Now, Here is the third to the last chapter, may it be worth your while.
&
Full Circle
About one hundred miles east of Haven City was a most peculiar object. Those not familiar with the region would no doubt wonder why in the world there seemed to be a massive, cannon like structure sitting on top of a cliff in a grassland area, its muzzle pointed towards a far off peak.
What they would not realize, was that that particular peak was the home of a rather nasty group of artificially created life forms, and that the strange weapon, nicknamed 'Mar's Gun,' had been designed, supposedly with help from the mysterious 'Praetor,' to crack the Metal Head Nest open like it was a nut.
A drop ship was currently on an autopilot approach, the dark elf inside it now realizing what its mysterious power source was, as that was supposedly the reason that Mar had never fired it.
However, Jak was not aware of how close they were, as his eyes were closed, and his breathing deep and even. He sat upon his knees, his hands cupped as he meditated, trying to will his body to restore its dark power faster. The knowledge of where they were, and whether or not any hostiles were approaching was a job that fell to Daxter, who had apparently been able to overcome his temptation to just start randomly pushing things once he'd sat down in the pilot's seat.
Hopping up and out of the seat, the Ottsel scampered over to Jak, shaking the Ascended Channeler out of his reverie. With a groan, he rose, stretching and working the kinks out of his body.
'Now I see how such devastation could be wrought by a single weapon.' Kage rumbled inside of his mind as he stared out of the window, Mar's Gun practically filling it even though a full mile separated them from it.
'No kidding.' was Jak's reply, as he too stared in awe at the massive cannon.
The transport craft touched down, and Jak opened the rear hatch, stepping out into the open air.
"Well," he remarked out loud, staring around and shouldering Keira's backpack, "this was a really great idea."
Meanwhile, back in Haven City, Ashelin and company were fighting their way towards the hanger in which the prototype Hellcats were being held. Praxis' body had been stashed in a dumpster, something that his daughter had been mortified over initially, but had soon realized was better than leaving his corpse out to be chewed up by ravenous Grunts and Drones.
Shortly thereafter, her sorrow had turned to fury, and her twin handguns flashed as they struck down Metal Head after Metal Head, with Torn frantically trying to keep her in check, lest she get herself killed in some sort of berserker rush.
Thankfully, while she was still somewhere between homicidally pissed and mad as the hells, she was no longer suicidal in her rage. Jynx had been the one to pull her out of it, stating that she would have some problems avenging her old man if she was dead as well. Now she was once again the cool and calm commander who was holding everything together. She understood that there would be time to mourn for the loss of her father, but it was not now, neither was the setting exactly the most appropriate.
Tess advanced forward, her submachine gun firing in short, rapid bursts into the ranks of an enemy group, while Benton activated his termite's boosters, jetting towards a Crab Head with the intent of running it through with his Ex-Os plasma torch. Jynx was busy too, unleashing the fury of his morph gun and his DC-17 upon anything unlucky enough to catch his attention.
Between them all, this group of hostiles was dealt with swiftly enough. However, there was some radio chatter that soon came over their comms., and Jynx instantly recognized whose voice was behind the frantic call for help. Without waiting for the others, he tore off in the direction of the signal, about a quarter mile from their current location.
"Jynx!" Torn called out, but the other Revenant paid him no heed.
With a swear, Ashelin and the others took off after him, praying that the gray armored warrior wasn't about to do something stupid.
Fortunately, the resistance that they encountered as they tailed the pyromaniac was weak to say the least, a few solitary Grunts or Drones that had gotten separated from the rest of their groups, and up against the twenty five odd elves in this squad, they were disposed of with merciful swiftness.
That all changed once they arrived at the area where the call had come from. No less than a hundred Metal Heads swarmed the area, rushing at a barricade that had been hastily erected around the lobby of a fancy apartment complex.
Without hesitation, the two construct Ex-Os engaged their boosters and jetting into the sector, crushing and slicing through their opposition. Jynx, practically frantic by this time, made a bee line for the lobby area, his two submachine guns gunning down those Metal Heads foolish enough to try and take the Revenant on in combat.
Torn, Ashelin, and Tess were right behind him, their respective weapons cutting a bloody swath through the Hora-quan as they tried to bring the situation under control.
Off in the far corner of the square, Torn noticed another Crab Head bringing its group in to beef up the Metal Head presence. However, he couldn't worry about them now, as his shredder lacked the range required to do so.
With a rolling dive to avoid fire from one of the Metal Head commanders, Jynx flung himself behind a dura-crete incased flower bed, before belly crawling over to where the other elves were.
Grim and Mog were there among the defenders, the former of which was favoring his left arm, which had a makeshift bandage wrapped around it. His younger brother had stuck a large repeating blaster above his head and over a similar flower bed type structure, firing indiscriminately at whatever was on the other side.
"You might want to tell him to stop doing that." Jynx said, getting a shocked look from both siblings, as they'd never even heard him approach. "There are friendlies out there now."
With a battle cry, the Revenant popped up from behind his cover, laying down precision fire upon his foes. Unconsciously, he thought back to three and a half years ago, when he and fifteen brothers and sisters had leapt into the jaws of Hell, and how half of them had never returned. This fight, this battle to protect Haven City, it was for them. He fought for Anton, for Samantha, for Damas, for everyone else that had given their lives that day in defense of the city.
Torn was thinking along much the same lines, and unleashed his shredder upon them, while not to far off, Toshiro made use of his marksman skills to relieve the Crab Heads of their command, while another K.G. commando opened up with the vulcan that Sig had entrusted him with. However, as the elf had found out earlier, he wasn't nearly as strong as the massive Wastelander had been, and as a result, found himself having to set his feet and struggle with all of his might to keep the recoil factor under control. This prevented him from being able to shoot on the move like Sig had been able to.
However, with its enormous rate of fire, it wasn't like a whole lot of things could actually live long enough to take advantage of that fact.
Thus, with all of this firepower, things were quickly brought under control.
"Looks like we owe you another one," Grim said to his old friend, looking rather haggard.
"Don't mention it." Jynx remarked, as he stared about at the utter devastation. "But I really don't think this is much of a defensible position anymore."
"Agreed." Ashelin said as she walked over. "And we need more people to man the Hellcats, so it looks like you guys are coming with us."
They nodded and there was a chorus of 'yes ma'ams' from the defenders, before they fell into ranks along with the others.
Before long, they reached the hangar, and sure enough, about fifteen sleek and shinning Hellcat cruisers were sitting in it, waiting to be brought up into the air. Orders were shouted and the intermingling Underground and Krimzon Guard forces scrambled to the gunships, running through preflight checks and take off protocols.
Ashelin, Torn, and Tess all piled into a single craft. The red haired lieutenant took the piloting seat, while the Revenant to her side manned the point defense cannons. Tess slipped behind them and climbed up into the quad blaster turret, where she quickly warmed up the primary anti-air weapon.
Torn looked to his left, and saw his brother in arms clambering into the piloting seat of another Hellcat. He saluted Jynx, who returned the gesture as Mog and Grim got themselves situated as well.
On the other side of the hangar, Benton and his squad mate finally ditched their construction exo-skeletons, as the frames had taken about all the abuse that they could, and were about to fall apart. Then they too, made a made dash for one of the gunships.
Before two minutes had passed, the whole fleet was airborne, and splitting off into groups of threes to answer the flooding calls for air support.
The elevator carried the two of them upwards, and the dark elf looked out as they rose hundreds of feet into the air. Daxter, merely looked down, before gulping and getting as close to the central part of the elevator as he could. Still, he tried to look on the bright side, in the event that he did fall, Jak would be able to let Kage take over and catch him, and for that matter, at least there was no Dark Eco to fall into this time around.
His thoughts were interrupted as the lift suddenly came to a halt with a lurch. The two companions stepped off the elevator and onto a catwalk. Jak looked about, and quickly located what appeared to be a covered control console of some sort. The Ascended Channeler hurriedly walked over to the control station, and typed a few commands in on the keyboard that was sheltered and out of the elements.
The screen suddenly blazed to life, and several Precursean runes flashed on it. Instantly, Jak translated the script.
It was telling him to insert a power source.
The dark elf ducked back outside, and upon locating a likely slot, withdrew and inserted the Precursor Stone into it. It shined for a brief moment, before turning a strange blackish purple color. Jak backed away, afraid for a moment that he had done something wrong. However, as the massive cannon hummed and more things on it started flashing, he realized that it was ready to fire.
There was a beeping sound coming from his utility belt, and he realized that his comm. was going off. He quickly reached down and grabbed it activating it in the process.
It was Ashelin, and the news from the city wasn't good.
"We've sealed off their ground forces, but we're still getting pummeled from the air." The daughter of Praxis told him. "This is turning into a lost cause, Jak. You should just link back up with Keira, take that Rift Rider thing, and get out of this hell."
"This 'hell' is my home, Ashelin," he growled as he walked back towards the control center of the cannon, "and its worth fighting for."
The red haired lieutenant sounded as if she was going to make some sort of reply, before a burst of chatter came form her end of the line, and she abruptly killed the signal.
Jak, somewhat worried but knowing that he really couldn't do much to help them from way out here, turned his attention back to the control console, whose screen now showed exactly where the gun was aiming. Jak made a few minor corrections, and then smiled wickedly to himself.
"Stone…Gun…Nest." He growled, pressing the large button clearly marked 'Fire.'
"Ha, ha, light er up, padre!" Daxter said, rubbing his hands together as he found another perch on Jak's shoulder.
"Knock, knock." The dark elf said with a devilish laugh.
'Indeed, I suspect this will be quite the rude awakening.' Kage said, and Jak could tell that the oni had a fanged grin upon his visage.
A whine came from the skyscraper sized weapon, and a vibration shook the whole area as the relic finally began to fulfill its purpose. And then, it happened.
A massive, multi colored beam shot out of the end of cannon, streaking towards the Metal Head Nest at incredible speed. Jak, watching the vid screen in front of him, watched it connect about six seconds later, and blow a gapping hole in the nest.
"Whoa." Daxter replied, his eyes practically doubling in size. "You reckon that woke them up?"
'If Kor did not know that we were coming before,' Kage rumbled, rubbing his chin within the dark elf's mind, 'then he most certainly does now.'
'Yep, so much for the quiet approach.' Jak concurred in a cheerful tone.
"Well," he remarked aloud, cracking his knuckles, "let's go take care of business."
Even though Mar's Gun was a good hundred and fifty miles away from Haven City, Torn and company still saw the flash and the massive beam that streaked towards its unmistakable target.
For a moment, no one could think of anything to say, until Ashelin suddenly keyed open the comm. system of the Hellcat.
"All aerial combat units able to hear this message, home in on our position and do it fast." She growled in an authoritative voice. "The enemy's back door just got unlocked."
With Jynx forming up on their left wing, and several more joining them as they streaked over the city, the group prepared themselves for a daring, and likely, suicidal attack run.
Jak hopped off the rear hatch of the drop ship, looking around at the canyon system that led to the Metal Head Nest.
Wordlessly, he began to walk towards his destination, and he found himself gazing, and recalling bits and pieces of what Torn had told him had happened here those years ago.
Though the flesh had long since rotted from their bones, the remains of elves littered the canyons, patches of dark red armor, with a splash of blue intermingled among them, indicating where each and every elf had left this mortal coil in agony. Here too, were the remnants of burned out scorpion assault tanks, and craters that indicated where a Hellcat had gone down, their crews fighting to the bitter end.
And somewhere out here, in this gods forsaken wasteland, lay the corpse of Damas…
That thought nearly brought tears to his eyes. Nearly being the key phrase. There would be a time for mourning, and then the tears could flow, but it was not now. Now, he had to finish what had been started so long ago.
And so, with grim determination, he marched forward, heading towards a confrontation that he knew would make his showdown with Gol and Maia look like a cakewalk.
Still, both he and Kage were grateful for the attack in a strange way, as it meant that most of the Metal Head forces were engaged in the battle for Haven City, leaving their own home base relatively unguarded. In fact, he was within one kilometer of the nest before he encountered anything resembling resistance.
His eyes closed, Kor exhaled deeply, letting his senses permeate the area around the Nest. He did his best to choke back a growl of anger as he sensed the death of more of his children. These ones, though, were not passing on in the city, these ones were dying here, at the hands of that damnable freak of nature who was currently tearing his was towards the nest like some force of nature.
He felt another group lose contact with him, and this time he did not bother to try and keep his rage bottled up, and a snarl left his fangs that would have sent any sane elf running for the hills.
Never in his eon long life, would he, the great Hora-quan Overmind, have ever believed that the descendant of one of his enemies' bastard offspring would have ever poised this much of a threat to his forces on his own. He knew what Channelers were capable of doing en mass, which was why he had struggled so hard to bring them down, to kill them before they could become a threat.
But Jak…he was an anomaly, something that hadn't been figured into his calculations. He knew that mutations sometimes occurred within the Channelers, that their genetic code, which was something of a natural impossibility unto itself, would sometimes change. But he would have never thought that they could become as dangerous as that.
Still, considering who he was descended from, it was a factor he that he realized he should have taken into account.
Still, simply because Jak could slay his children with such ruthless efficiency did not mean that he himself would fall. After all, how many Precursors had he forced Death to come and collect? Even their mightiest warrior, touted for so long as their champion, had fallen before him, granted, he'd never expected that they'd go to such lengths to keep that miserable Reaver 'alive.'
He felt more of his children die, and he bared his fangs again as he felt Jak continue. The elf cut the Hora-quan that challenged him down like they were nothing, decapitating them, gutting them, bisecting them, or in some cases, merely blasting them into oblivion.
The minutes drew on, and dozens fell. For a moment, Kor regretting not keeping more of his forces here, but he forced himself to push that thought aside as the dark elf drew closer.
They streaked towards the nest, all twelve of the gunships in a maneuverable attack formation. From his position in the copilot/point defense seat, Torn looked over to his right, where Ashelin sat at the controls, a small covering of sweat giving her skin a bright sheen. Unconsciously, the red haired lieutenant stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, before swallowing in an attempt to get some moisture back into her throat.
Her father's death was still in the back of her mind, but she supposed, that maybe he had at last found peace in death that he'd never been able to get in life. He'd tried to fix things back the way they were, redeem himself, so to speak, and maybe, just maybe, his actions had spoken well enough for him.
She knew one thing, Jak was right, this hell was worth fighting for, though she was a bit confused by what he had meant when he'd said it was his home, as he'd thus far vehemently proclaimed himself to not be a Haven City native.
Still, that was something she'd only be able to ask him about if they lived through this suicide attack. The daughter of Praxis only prayed that they succeeded. If Kor died…if the Hora-quan Overmind was slain, then his vile children would be without a leader, or a means by which to propagate themselves.
It was Haven's only hope in the long run.
Torn, ever watchful, knew how nervous that she was right now, and how nervous he himself was too. Almost without thinking, he let his gaze turn left, and he saw Jynx on his wing, realizing that his brother in arms must have felt much the same way. He also didn't need to ask Tess how she was doing up in the quad blaster turret.
He needed to calm down, to relax, somehow, or he was going to burn himself out before they even got close, which wouldn't be good.
Abruptly, he remembered something from his training. It had been one of the first things that Walon had taught him and the other Deltas. Some decades back, a foreigner from a small country known as Cardon had been taken into the ranks of the elite soldiers, and had brought with him something from the old country. It had been an old warrior battle hymn that his people had carried in their hearts when going into combat, and it had pretty much been adopted as the unofficial 'motto' of the elite groups. Silently, the Revenant opened up a comm. link with the other ships, and opening his mouth, felt the words come forth as easily as they had the last time he'd sung them, those years ago when the squads had still been whole.
"Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an." he began, pausing for a moment.
Sure enough, Jynx picked up right behind him
"Haveanta a'den mhi, Vode an." the pyromaniac answered in return, before they continued on together.
"Bal kote, darasuum kote," they said, and Torn noticed that Ashelin was watching him out of the corner of her eye, no doubt having never heard this before.
"Jorso'ran kando a tome." the two brothers continued, their voices building in intensity until they reached the final line.
"Sa kyr'am Nau tracyn kad, Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a!" they practically thundered, before suddenly becoming much quieter, finishing the chant with two words. "Vode an."
It was then, that something unexplainable happened. Torn and Jynx, both of them felt a familiar presence around themselves, a feeling that hadn't been with them since the coup. It was almost as if they somehow knew that the spirits of their fallen brothers and sisters were watching over them.
The others felt it too, and a noticeable calm came over everyone as they realized that they were not alone.
And so they continued onward, the Metal Head Nest growing ever larger on the horizon.
Finally, the last generator was back up and running. It had been the trickiest of the lot, and if the construct had been capable of breathing a sigh of relief, it would have done so. However, it had no time to sit back and congratulate itself, as there was still the matter of the auto turrets to deal with.
Full of purpose, and his blade stained in the blood of scores of kills, Jak, Daxter at his heels, entered the shattered Metal Head Nest.
A token few of the small, leaping variety of Hora-quan, Mantises, if he recalled correctly, jumped out at him, their scythe-like front limbs poised to tear at his flesh.
But, fast as they were, they were not the greatest subspecies for taking punishment, and Jak's reflexes were beyond what even they were capable of.
The pieces of them fell to the ground, hitting upon the strange floor of the Nest. Although, he did sense that a few of them had a higher than normal concentration of Dark Eco inside of them, and those were knocked to the ground with his fists, so that Kitetsu could better quench its thirst, and be more prepared for the battle that lay before him.
Nothing else leaped out of the shadows to challenge him, though Kage kept his senses up, wary for anything.
Soon enough, they made their way through the place to where the central pit was, as most of the maze-like tunnels had been eradicated when the cannon blast had hit.
Within the massive central chamber, Kor hung from the ceiling. In front of him, entrapped in some sphere of dark energy, was Alex, apparently out cold. Suddenly, the Metal Head Leader exhaled, and opened his eyes.
"So, you have come, Jak." He rumbled, his glowing yellow eyes boring into the Ascended Channeler. "And at last, events have come full circle."
"Then you're prepared to die?" Jak returned with equal vehemence. "'Cause I'm going to enjoy killing you, Kor, I don't take kindly to being used."
"But you've been used your whole life, Jak." the Hora-quan Overmind stated casually. "Samos used you to open the Tomb of Mar, so the Underground could get its hands upon the Precursor Stone." he paused, and Jak didn't even bat an eye, though Daxter suddenly was looking back and forth between his friend and the massive Metal Head in the center of the room, a confused expression upon his face. "Praxis attempted to turn you into a bio weapon, to be unleashed upon me and my children. Hell, Jak, even Onin used you, hiding your younger self away from me in the past in the hopes that you would gain the skills needed to face me here today, and failing that, informing Praxis of when you would be coming back, and letting him know what you might become!"
"I, am not, a pawn!" the dark elf roared, his eyes flashing purple for a moment as he lost control of his rage.
This caused Kor to break out in deep laughter, and it echoed hauntingly throughout the chamber. After about half of a minute, the Hora-quan Overmind finally managed to get some control over his self.
"Ahhh, Jak, ignorance must truly be bliss." Kor said with a fiendish smile upon his face. "A pawn is all you will ever be, all you were meant to be!"
"What?" the dark elf said, wary of a trick.
"Oh come now, Alexander," the eons old monster rumbled, calling him by his christened name, "did you never wonder, in all your years, what possessed the Precursors to start mating with creatures that weren't even their own species?" Kor went silent for a few seconds, awaiting a response. When none was forthcoming, he continued with his little rant. "Did you never wonder what madness drove them, the Ancients, to start having offspring with life forms so far beneath them? I mean, for the love of the Fallen Ones, they were perfecting long range space travel when your kind was barely grasping the concept of bows and arrows. When they were mastering the use of warp gates," he gestured up to the Rift Gate, which Jak only now noticed, in the corner of his lair, "your kind was finally beginning to understand that copper resulted in better tools and weapons than stone. So what could have possessed them to do such a thing?"
"I don't know." Jak responded coldly, his eyes never leaving Kor.
"Well, then I feel that you should die knowing the truth." The Hora-quan Overmind said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "It was nothing along the lines of 'love' or 'compassion' that made them do it. They knew they were losing their war with us, and they sought victory by any means. Soon enough, they realized why they were losing: they didn't have enough numbers." Kor paused again, grinning maliciously. "They found the solution with you elves. The Channelers, long hailed for their 'noble' bloodlines, were created by the Ancients to be a sub-race of hybrid super-soldiers for the sole purpose of turning the tide!" he spat.
One could have dropped a pin in the chamber, and heard it hit the ground, it was that quiet. Daxter and Jak exchanged looks of disbelief, while Kage growled suspiciously in the mind's eye of the Ascended Channeler.
"You lie!" the dark elf hissed.
"I'm afraid I do not, Jak." Kor replied with a shake of his head. "They sought their most powerful warriors, and had them breed with elven females that they…'acquired.' Your kind, believe it or not, had several traits that made them optimal for the project." he said, before bringing up his hands and counting off on his fingers. "You are a rather strong and hardy people, and you are more intelligent than a good number of other races out on this world. You also adapt quickly to almost any given environment or situation, another plus. And then, of course, there is one last advantage your kind has, especially when the 'gift' you possess is passed on through genetics: you elves breed like kangarats."
'As if he has any room to talk!' Kage growled, his taloned fingers flexing back and forth, eager to tear into the one whom had for so long been a bane to his host.
"And there you have it, Jak." Kor replied smugly, baring his fangs a little more. "The truth of your nature revealed, your fate spelled out for you. You are a weapon, an instrument, a tool to be used and then cast aside once your purpose is through, nothing more!" he snarled, before calming himself, and continuing with a slightly pensive tone "Yet, despite everything, you still hail them practically as if they were gods, when they were the ones to drag you into this conflict in the first place!"
Jak went to make a reply, but a rattling sound suddenly came from within his backpack. His eyes still upon Kor, he reached back, fumbled for a second, and then drew forth the Precursor Stone.
It was black once again and it vibrated slightly.
The Hora-quan Overmind seemed to take interest in this, and leaned forward slightly.
"Well I'll be…" he murmured, before straightening up. "Can you actually hear me in that little stasis chrysalis, Tarath?"
The Stone rattled again, this time, in what almost appeared to be an angry manner.
"I'll take that as a yes." Kor said with a smug grin. "How very interesting, I suppose your slightly…unusual…nature must be responsible for that."
"This thing is a Precursor?" Jak said, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"More or less." the Metal Head Leader responded with a nod of his head. "I'm not actually certain if he can be called a Precursor anymore, though, given what he's become. Mar was wise and cunning, building the Shield Wall to defend him. But that is beside the point. Precursor or not, I am going to have your younger self open that stasis chrysalis, and then I am going to finish what I started all those years ago! Then, my task in this ancient chess game will be finished."
"You're forgetting one thing, megalomaniac!" Daxter shouted in a voice that was surprisingly loud and defiant. "We've got the Precursor Stone!"
"Not for long!" the Hora-quan Overmind snarled, before throwing out a large ray of Yellow Eco at the duo.
It hit, and there was a deafening concussion, as the raised area they were standing on collapsed. The Precursor Stone, undamaged by the blast, fell into the pit and rolled for a moment, before coming to a stop about fifteen feet in front of where Kor was hanging.
"Hmmm," Kor mused, frowning while he rubbed his chin, "considering whose genes he's carrying, I would have at least expected him to put up a fight." He then traced his claws down to the two scars upon his chest, and looked out to the Stone. "But clearly, Tarath, genetics aren't everything."
The Stone rattled once again, and Kor could have sworn for a moment that he saw a pair of red flashes inside the now blackish purple Stone. He was going to say something, but he was suddenly made aware of the fact that someone off to his left was clearing their throat.
Slowly, he looked over, and saw Jak, and Daxter as well. Both were unharmed, and the dark elf had Kitetsu out.
"I, am not a pawn!" He repeated, snarling once again. "I may have been born to be a weapon, but I fight because I chose to, not because my ancestors were bred to be some sort of super army." He narrowed his slitted eyes and for a brief instant, Kor felt a bit of fear makes its way through his heart. "I have no 'fate' but that which I make for myself!"
'A noble speech, my friend.' his inner demon said, a smile upon his visage.
'Thanks, Kage,' Jak responded as he created a phantom blade in his left hand, 'you ready for this?'
'I will not fail you!' the oni replied, thumping a fist across his chest.
'I know you won't.' the Ascended Channeler said with an inward grin.
They were yanked back to reality by an earthshaking rumble as Kor released himself from the cocoon like structure he'd been hanging in, and spread out his many legs, before bringing his talons up into what could only have been some kind of combat stance.
"Very well then, Jak." the enormous monster said. "We shall battle and see what becomes of this eons old conflict."
Daxter, standing next to Jak, made haste to get out of the way, realizing that this was one battle where he'd just be a complication for his friend. Still, his large eyes flew back and forth, eying on one side, Kor, arguably the most powerful individual creature to have ever lived, and on the other, Jak, the Channeler that prophecy spoke of. A battle of colossal proportions was about to happen…but who would be left standing when all was said and done?
&
Aaaaannnnndddd cut!
Okay, I know I am probably receiving enough death glares to destroy a small army at the moment, probably from the Channelers' origins as much as the place that I chose to stop at. However, I felt that the battle between Jak, Kage, and Kor deserved a chapter to itself. The good news is that I'm about a quarter of the way through it, and its shaping up to be pretty big, but I am hoping to make it at least ten thousand words long, so if you have any ideas that you would like to see, please let me know, I beg of you (gets down on knees and begins pleading)
On another note, for those of you probably wondering what in the world was going on between Torn and Jynx, what they were saying was a Mandalorian (dear heavens, I read waaaayyyyy too much Star Wars) battle phrase, the translation of which is this.
Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an-- One indomitable heart, Brothers all.
Haveanta a'den mhi, Vode an.-- We, the wrath of Haven, Brothers all.
Bal kote, darasuum kote.-- And glory, eternal glory.
Jorso'ran kando a tome-- We shall bear its weight together.
kyr'am Nau tracyn kad, gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a! Vode an-- Forged like the saber in the fires of death, our vengeance burns brighter still! Brothers all.
Now, I have asked around, and I have been assured that this does not count as a songfic, however, should that not be the case, please let me know immediately so that I can change it before the administrators come swooping down on me, as I would rather not lose eight months worth of work.
That said, please let me know what you thought of this chapter and if you have any ideas, comments, constructive criticisms, let me know as well. Or feel free to even flame me.
Thanks, and have a great day.