There was light and Darkness
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own anything from the Jak games of Naughty Dog.
Keeroshu: How do you like the new name? It feels different not writing as sushi-chan, but I'll get used to it. I know the last chapter wasn't my best, so I hope to make up for it in this one...with fewer errors too. Thanks again to eskimo'sRsxy and Eight-and-a-halph-tails for their help.
Chapter 7: The New Earth
"Will you cut that out!" Tome yelled across at the joyful kits. They had been jumping and screaming for the past twenty minutes and it was beginning to give her a headache. The ottsel kits frowned and slowly moved away from their angered babysitter.
"That was a little harsh, don't you think? I mean, they were only playing." Zack sat down with a sandwich he had made for himself and Tome.
"I know..." Tome sighed as she refused the yakow sandwich. "No thanks, I'm not hungry..."
"You've got to eat something. You haven't eaten since yesterday." He tried to get her to take the sandwich again, but received the same results. Zack had kept an eye on Tome over the last few weeks. There was something different about her. She was hardly ever in a good mood, when she did eat she ate like she hadn't eaten in days. Not to mention she had fainted after a battle with the Dusk-ravs not that long ago. Zack thought is was due to the fact that she hadn't eaten that day, but now he was beginning to worry.
"I had three not that long ago..." She blushed looking down at her hands. She didn't want to seem like a pig, but she had been so hungry for some reason. So, she ate. All of a sudden a wave of nausea passed through her.
"Are you okay?" Zack's voice was full of concern as he saw the color slowly drain from the girl's face.
"Yea...yeah. I'm just a little tired, that's all." Tome slowly got to her feet moving away from the booth and tried not to trip when her vision became unclear.
"Tome..." Zack stood up ready to help in anyway that he could.
"I'll be fine." She smiled measuredly. "I'm just going to lie down for a little while."
Zack watched his girlfriend's retreating form wondering what had changed her some much in such a short amount of time. He was brought from his thoughts as the Naughty Ottsel's automatic door opened. Torn walked through with a young Zara on his shoulders.
"Where's Tome?" The ex-KG lifted the small girl from him shoulders and stood her on her feet. She instantly went to look for the furry ottsel kits to play with. A bar wasn't the most idealistic place for babysitting, but in the current situation it was possibly one of the safest. The palace was becoming too crowded with the injured that it wouldn't be good to have small children running around. Kell and Tala had already moved into their parents' room so their's could be put to other uses.
"She's not feeling well." Zack stood up to greet his commander.
"That's been happing an awful lot lately...maybe she should take a few days to rest." Torn watched as his daughter ran after the eagerly playful ottsel kits. How he had managed to not strangle their father was amazing even to him, now he would have to worry about four other little rats when they grew older.
"You know she won't. She wants to be out there fighting with the rest of us." Though he too wished she would take it easy for a little while. It seemed as if she were hiding something. And that something was eating at her.
"Yeah...That rat should be here soon. Along with Tala and Kell." Torn made ready to go.
"Fine." Zack didn't like too much being the designated babysitter. Especially when his other half was off sick leaving him here with three kids and a litter of kits. "How long is this meeting anyway?"
"It shouldn't be more than a couple of hours. Well know what our actions are concerning the Earth when this is over." Everyone had been briefed on the current situation with the unknown portal to the other world. Now they just needed to know how to handle it. On the other side of that portal, Jak and Colle were sure there would be more dangers.
Torn left heading toward the Freedom League HQ. Though it was one of the buildings left virtually unharmed, it wouldn't have been the safest to bring the children unless there was no other option.
"Hey there, soldier boy." Daxter walked in with his usual demeanor. Since a way to drive the Dusk-ravs out of Haven city ad been found, everyone's mood had lightened considerably.
"Hey, Dax."
"What's got you down in the dumps?" Daxter jumped onto the table.
Zack didn't get the chance to answer before Tome returned from the upstairs bedroom.
"Um...are you going to eat those?" She pointed to the two yakow sandwiches. When Zack shook his head as if in a daze, the teenaged girl took them both and headed back into seclusion.
"You've got yourself a problem, buddy boy." Daxter watched as the girl climbed the stairs.
"What kind of 'problem'?" The prince looked over at the ottsel. What did he know that Zack didn't know? And how does he know?
"You should talk to Jak about that one...and tell him what's going on..." Daxter patted the soldier on the shoulder. "Things are gonna be a little difficult."
"Here's our situation," Colle stood before a group of Freedom League officers and a few members from the old council. The council may have been disbanded with Ashelin's reign, but their wisdom was still valuable (A/N: I was brought to the notice that the Haven City council had been disbanded in the third Jak and Daxter game, so it will just have to be something I fix in the previous chapters; Don't worry, the story will remain the same, all that will change are a few dialog areas nothing much...as soon as I figure out how to go about it).
"It appears that the leader of these dark creatures resides within another world...my world. We need to find a plan of action."
"Let's just close the portal and be done with it." Zenic...
"How can you say that!" Mora stood up. "There are people out there who are worse off than we are! We should offer whatever help we can."
"We don't know what to expect. Besides, if we help others before we're even out of the fire ourselves, we have the chance of dying off completely."
"And if we don't help, then what? Those Dusk-ravs that are still out there can come here." Torn knew Zenic had grudgingly accepted Jak and Colle as the king and queen, but he was only worried about his own skin.
"That's why we close the portal." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What if there's another one the Precursors don't know about?" Shios spoke. He was for going to this other world. Then they would stop this menace once and for all.
No one answered. It was the sign that there weren't any further objections. After all, the Precursors had forgotten once. They could have forgotten twice, though it was very unlikely. They were Precursors after all.
"All right then. It's settled. We'll head to the portal in two days time." Jak called the meeting to its end. "Thirty soldiers will accompany us. Ashelin will remain her. In our absence, she is in command. If there are any further comments, you know where to find us. Now everyone is in need of rest. We'll see you on the battle field."
The two days passed without too many problems. During these two days, the Freedom League had used the time to test the new gun mods and to find the Dusk-ravs' weaknesses. It was just as the Precursor Leader had told them...Blue beats Red; Yellow beats Blue; Red beats Yellow...the only types they had yet to encounter were Light and Dark.
"All right, the thirty men and women who have received orders to accompany us, now is the time to get ready. So, get to it." Torn announced to the congregation of soldiers. By no means had he picked the best and only the best. He didn't want to leave Haven completely defenseless. Of course Ashelin would remain as would Tess, but they weren't capable fo defeating an entire army of beasts on their own.
As the thirty chosen soldiers began to file out, Torn made his way to the royal couple. He greeted Jak and Colle with what he had been carrying on his shoulder in a bag. Pulling the two mods from the sack, he handed them over.
"What are these?" Jak took the mod presented to him while Colle did the same. The gun mods were lighter then normal. They didn't look quiet so normal, though. Jak held a menacingly dark version of Colle's silver light one.
"These are the most powerful. The D.M.A. or Dark Matter Amplifier, will use Dark eco firing at the closest targets." He pointed to Jak's. "It'll also give you a boast of Dark eco allowing you to transform into your darker side.
"The S.D.C. or Sonic Desentigrator Cannon uses Light eco. It'll cause a high decibel explosion completely destroying any target within range. These two mods are like the others in many aspects. They are powerful and will destroy the Dusk-rav that gets in their way if it's the right eco. However, these are the most powerful. You must use caution when using them. With both of you having had experience using eco, you two are the only ones to use the dangerous thing. Hopefully they won't be needed."
The journey took most of one day and half of the next. Strangely enough, the farther along the group came to the now known portal, markings of the Dusk-ravs were seen less and less. At the end of the second day, all thirty solders, Jak, Colle, Daxter, and Torn found themselves face to face with the hidden portal.
"This must be it." Zack, one of the soldiers chosen to accompany them, stepped forward.
"Seeing as how it's the only one out here." Daxter jumped from Jak's shoulder.
"Hey, what's that?" Torn walked over to the portal after seeing a glimmer of blue. "It's the Crystal..." He reatched out a hand to grab it. They finally had it back.
"Wait!" Colle grabbed his wrist, stopping him from removing the gem.
"What?"
"Don't touch it. I think it's what's keeping the portal open." Colle released him and moved to stand in front of the gently rippling blue substance.
"I guess this is it..." Jak stood next to her. "I finally get to see what you used to call home."
"It won't be the same." Without looking back, Colle and Jak took a few steps forward and into the portal.
The orange rays of the sun shown through the destruction of what Colle and Zack had once called home. It seemed as if nothing was left of the old city. Buildings lay in crumbled heaps. Unlike the cities of Haven and Spargus, the streets were not covered in bodies. It seemed as if the ten years of free reign had given the Dusk-ravs a taste for something other than toying with its prey.
Colle looked out over her world. To say she was stunned would be an understatement. How would you feel to return home one day to find nothing left? Everything that you remembered, gone? That was what the queen of Haven City was feeling. She had expected it to be bad, but wasn't prepared for this. Even the trees and the gardens were gone; replaced by soldering ash.
"Colle..." Jak placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her from her thoughts. She turned to face him, but not looking at his face. She was sure she would start to cry. She didn't want him to see her as weak again.
"We need to find shelter. It's almost time and we won't do much good out here in the open." He spoke gently knowing it was hard to see your home completely destroyed.
Colle merely nodded her head and followed behind as the group of soldiers left to find a safe place to the current time. She looked up when she saw a shadow before her. It was Zack. He looked to be having the same reaction as she.
"We'll make it right, sis." The younger, but much taller, brother took his sister into a hug.
"I hope so, Zack." She was about to say more when she stopped. Not far away, the two heard yelling. They looked back to the group of soldiers. They had heard as well. Turning around, Colle began to run in the direction she had heard it; Zack and the others not far behind.
Taking a sharp turn at the corner of a building, she saw two young children with an older one that looked slightly younger than zack. One stood in front of the other two, clearly trying to protect them from the approaching Dusk-rav. It was hard to even be sure that it was a Dusk-rav. It looked nothing like those from Jak's world. Like a giant deformed insect, the monster inched closer to the children.
"Toni, get out of here!" The older of the three stood his ground as the Dusk-rav moved closer. In his hands he held a small hand gun. Firing it once, he found it to be ineffective. The bullet only bounced from the creature's tough skin.
"Are you crazy! You can't kill that thing!" The boy called Toni tightened his hold on a small girl who looked to be no older that four.
Colle and Zack were the first to reach the humans. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. However, even with it's slowing descent, it was still too fast for their liking.
Colle brought out the new gun mod Torn had given her only two days ago. Somehow she didn't think this was the type of last resort he had been referring to. Before going any farther, Colle concentrated on the Dusk-rav alone. What eco did it consist of?
"It's Blue." Colle switched to the C.E.P.C. (Charged Eco Particle Cannon) which used both Red and Yellow eco. Zack to the D.C. (Disruptor Cannon). Behind them, the soldiers along with Jak and Torn watched and stood at the ready. Other Dusk-ravs were sure to appear.
"Get out of the way!" Zack fired. As soon as the yellow blast struck, it caused the Dusk-rav to sway on its feet. The D.C. had become rather useful over the past couple of days. It allowed for a quick escape when needed.
The two boys scrambled, away from the monster. They didn't care if they didn't know who or where these strange people had come from. All they knew was that whatever they were doing was having a major effect on the Dusk-rav.
As soon as they were out of the way, Colle charged her own weapon and fired before Zack's gun ran out of eco. A beam of red and yellow eco emerged from the gun and pierced the Dusk-rav's thick armor. It took only a few seconds before it was on the ground motionless.
The two boys and the little girl stared at Colle and Zack and then at the other strangers. The oldest one stood in front of the other two protectively. They may have been saved by these people, but who's to say, they were the good guys?
"Are you three all right?" Jak walked over slowly, not wanting to alarm them any farther. He had noticed the many similarities between himself and the people here. But one thing was different. He noticed their ears were much smaller than his own. Was that how Colle had looked before she came to live in his world?
"We're fine." The older boy edged away when Jak came closer. He didn't trust any of them, yet there was a feeling of familia rarity about them.
"Yeah, sure you are." Torn spoke sarcastically as he walked over followed by Colle and Zack. "You were nearly killed, by your act of 'selflessness'. Those two wouldn't have been able to escape that Dusk-rav. After it finished with you, it would have gone after them."
"Torn, please. It's okay now." Colle interjected. She looked at the little girl that the one called Toni was holding. Crystal clear blue eyes looked up at them in fear. Not sure what to expect after what had almost happened.
"I'm Colle." She held out her hand as a welcoming gesture.
Reluctantly, the older boy shook it with a firm grip. "Coby."
Colle took another look at the teen's face upon hearing the name. She remembered her brother having spent the night at a friend's house when things would get too bad for him to stay when Jeremy was around.
"Coby Zarith?" At the mention of his name, the teen looked straight into Colle's eyes, suspicion on the rise.
"How do you know my last name?" He looked from the woman in front of him to the one who looked to be only a year or so older than himself. They did look awfully familiar. "Who are you?"
"Colle and Zack Garins. We lived not far from you." Colle looked at the other two who were with Coby. The younger boy, Toni, looked to be about twelve. Colle vaguely remembered meeting him all those years ago. The little girl looked too young to have been born before they had left this world.
"You're kidding, right?" Cody took a better look at them. From what he could remember of the peaceful days, they seemed like the ones he had known from his childhood. "But, If that's true, you disappeared over ten years ago."
"It's true, Co." Zack spoke. "We're back though...and we brought along some friends."
"Zack?" Realizing his old friend was standing before him, Coby gave him a half hug and punched him in the arm. "It's great to see you again."
"You too, Co."
"As much as I love happy reunions, it's getting darker by the second. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be around when the Dusk-ravs get hungry." Daxter broke through the happy mood, bringing them all back to the present.
"Dusk-ravs? The creature over there?" Coby asked.
"Yeah. They only attack at night, so we need to find shelter now." Torn started off. His soldiers quick to follow.
"You can hide back at our place." Coby stopped them before they got too far away. "I think it's big enough for all of you."
"Lead the way."
"So, what you're telling me...is that when you disappeared...you went into that video game we used to play?" Coby tried taking in all that he had just been told. It was unbelievable. "And now a deranged Gol and Maya are trying to destroy both worlds?"
"Pretty much, except Jak's world was never a game. The game we played was only a retelling of the history that had gone on in that world, in a sense..." Zack tried explaining again.
"Okay...That makes...sense...I guess." He was still confused. While he tried to shift the thought so that they would make better sense, Cody turned to his younger brother, Toni, and his little sister, Sarah. Their parents had been killed early on during one of the first attacks. He had been forced to care for them for almost eight years. H e only wanted them to have a normal life. He knew his innocence was gone. It had been gone since the day his parents had been killed. Now his brother was losing his. He didn't want his sister to face the same horrors as they did, but it looked hopeless. If only there was a way to beat these Dusk-ravs once and for all.
"We know how to beat them." Zack whispered, not wanting to wake those who were sleeping. Among them was Tome. She had become nervous around him. At certain times it seemed as if she would speak, but then say nothing. She wanted to tell him something, but she never did. Zack wanted to know why she was acting so strangely. 'I guess I'll have to do as Daxter said. I'll talk with Jak tomorrow maybe.'
"Really? How?" Coby also whispered. Sarah was sleeping peacefully in his lap and Toni looked as if he wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer.
"Eco. Each one affects its own Dusk-rav."
"Eco? But how are we going to beat them all? There are too many."
"You let us worry about that." Zack closed his eyes as he let the darkness overcome him.
Keeroshu: Yay! The end of another chapter! I hope this one was better than my last one. The only way for me to know is for you guys to tell me. So don't forget to review! Sayo!