Chapter XVII: Back To The Fortress

LES: I'm sorry if this chapter is not quite up to par, but I did have the real copy done, then a shelf dropped on the desktop, making it incapable of turning on. (My dad thinks that I'm bad luck to computers. First the laptop, then the desktop.) Anyway, I had already thrown the paper copy away for the next two chapters. I waited as long as I could, then my dad said there was almost no chance of getting the chapters back alive, so I'm am being forced to write it again from scratch. This goes for the next two chapters. So forgive me if it's not up to my usual standard. We'll get back to the real stuff soon.

As soon as Jak walked back into the City, he became aware of some sort of 'voiceless voice' calling for him. It urged him to come, for it was something extremely important. The summons was coming for not too far away, so Jak stole a nearby zoomer and began to head toward the calling voice.

"Uh… Jak?" Daxter asked as Jak didn't head for the exit. "The exit of the Water Slums is that way." He pointed.

"Not yet, something's calling me." Jak said in a dazed sort of way.

Daxter realized that Jak was in one of his 'weird moods'. "Okay…"

Jak followed the summons to its origin and found that it was coming from an old, run-down building. It didn't look like much, only half-rotted wood, a tiny little shack that looked like it could fall into the water at any moment. "It's coming from in there." Jak said. He walked though the door, which opened automatically to let him in.

"Sweet Precursors! Is that what I think it is?" Daxter demanded.

It was a Precursor Oracle, an ancient Precursor-made device that had the power to see into the past, present, and future. Not that they ever let on much. It usually wasn't until the thing that they prophesied happened to you that you would understand what they meant. They tended to speak in riddles and pretended not to give out any information, when they actually were giving it out. As you can see, Oracles could be a pain to handle. Its appearance was much as Jak remembered from Sandover. It was made completely of indestructible Precursor metal; its large orange face had two large glowing eyes that once held power cells, and it had a long drooping snout-like thing that nearly went to the ground.

Suddenly, the eyes glowed brighter and the mysterious and ancient presence of the Oracle entered the room. It seemed to gaze down at Jak with unblinking, staring eyes. "Greetings, Great Warrior, I have waited many years for your return."

Not unusually, this statement confused Jak. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"You shall discover in time, Great One." The Oracle rumbled. "It is I who summoned you, for we have much to discuss, and not all topic will be happy ones, as much as it pains me." The Oracle paused. "I sense the Darkness within you, it grows and is slowly, but surely consuming you. You will die."

"Don't all mortals die in the end?" Jak asked.

"True, but those are natural deaths that can not be stopped. This is a death that is unnatural, and it must be stopped. You see, the Darkness will destroy you in a little under a year, several months, at the most."

"What…" Jak paused, putting it together. "Dark Eco Poisoning?"

"Yes. You've witnessed this terrible death, and I can see that you have no desire for that death…"

"No desire?" Jak demanded. "Is there one person on this world who'd want to die of Dark Eco Poisoning?"

"True." The Oracle said. "This is a complete disaster, worse than you, a mortal, could understand. Your kind is needed in the world in the next few years, and we cannot allow you to die this soon… not when it isn't your time to go."

"So, I'm going to die in a few months of Dark Eco Poisoning?" Jak asked. "How are you supposed to stop that? There is no cure for Dark Eco Poisoning."

"There is a cure." The Oracle said. "There is a cure for everything, the hard part is finding it."

"There's a cure?" Jak demanded, for he really didn't want to die of Dark Eco Poisoning. The thought of the pain haunted him. "What is it?"

"There is a known cure. Only with the Powers of the Precursors can you be saved." The Oracle said.

There was a paused. Finally, Jak spoke up. "Well, aren't you going to do it?"

"I can not." The Oracle said. "Only a true living Precursor can perform this task."

There was silence for several minutes before Daxter spoke up. "A living Precursor? Listen, Oracle, I don't know how long you've been cooped up in here, but you've obviously missed a few important memos. There are no more living Precursors! They're gone! Dead! Extinct!"

"Daxter's right." Jak said. "The Precursors have been gone for thousands of years… no… eons. There are no more Precursors!"

"Precursors exist still." The Oracle said. "For there are other states of being. Perhaps no living Precursors are within range of this planet, able to get here before you die, but there are Precursors."

"I don't understand." Jak said. "Are you saying…?"

"I'm saying that there is hope for you." The Oracle said. "In the mean time, I can help you. As of now, your Dark Powers are crazy and out of your control. I can help you with that."

"Are you saying you'll give me the power to control myself?" Jak asked.

"Yes, but you'll have to prove your worth first." The Oracle said. "Destroy my enemies, those creatures your kind call the 'Metal-Heads.' Bring me twenty-five of their skull gems and I will teach you how to control these Dark Powers of yours." The Oracle paused. "Find the cure, find a Precursor. I wish you all the luck in the world, Great One." With that, booming presence of the Oracle faded.

There was silence for several seconds, and for good reason. Jak had always known his particular profession would one day kill him, but he never expected that to happen when he was only nineteen. He wasn't even old enough to drink legally, yet he was going to die? It didn't seem fair. But, then again, nothing had been 'fair' since he had arrived in Haven two years ago.

"Jak?" Daxter asked at the look on Jak's face. "Are you all right?"

Jak blinked. "Of coarse, I'm all right."

"Well, you shouldn't be. You just found out that you are on the fast track to the 'sleep eternal'! You shouldn't be all right at all!"

"Dax… I'm—I'm fine." Jak said, but the tone of his tone told Daxter that he didn't believe those words in the slightest.

"Perhaps…" Daxter said. "A good mission may help get this off your mind."

"Perhaps…" Jak said as he walked out of the little hut, the Oracle's empty gaze on him.

A short drive though the crowded streets later, and Jak was outside the Underground. He walked up to the door, which opened automatically to let him in. Torn met him instantly in the front room of the Underground.

"The Slum's water is back on." Torn said. "I'd love to see the heads roll when the Baron finds out."

"Yeah," Jak said sarcastically. "I'm sure he's losing lots of sleep over this 'arm-pit' of the City. We've done what you've asked, now when do we see the Shadow?"

"When I say so… if I say so." Torn said, glaring at Jak. "But before I even think about it, I want you to take out an ammo dump we've ID'ed in the fortress. The ammo dump is well guarded, lots of Krimzon Guards… constant patrols. However, I know that it's vulnerable, and the Underground needs you to blow up all the ammo inside. Get all of it, and we'll deal a body-blow to the Baron!"

"Hey! You're sendin' us in, Tough Guy! So what's with this 'We'll deal a body-blow' stuff?" Daxter complained.

"That's fine by me." Jak said. "As long as the Baron knows that it's ME…" His fist slammed on the table. "…Who's hurting him."

Torn stared at Jak for a second, wondering what in the world could make this young… boy so hell-bent on the Baron's demise. Not that most people didn't want the Baron dead, but most only muttered insults under their breath and behind the Baron's back. Not everyone openly defied him as Jak did. Torn knew from his time in the Krimzon Guard that one should tread lightly around Praxis, or you would find yourself in a helluva lot of trouble.

Without wasting another second, Jak spun on his heel and was out of the Underground. Torn resolved that he would try to figure this boy out. Jak could very well be a wild-card, and wild-cards were the last thing he wanted or needed in this war. He would have to discover Jak's true intentions, whether or not he really supported their cause, or just wanted to get at the Baron.

Jak walked back out into the City, and he was not in a good mood at all. Was it only a few days ago when he risked his life to be the first person ever to escape the Baron's prison, and now he was going to waltz right back in… through the front door, no less!

"I swear to the Precursors, if I get captured again, I'm going to escape and add Torn to the 'Must-Die' list." Jak vowed.

"I doubt they are going to be so stupid to let you escape again." Daxter said. "Hell, if they manage to capture you, you'd probably be put under constant surveillance."

"That's no different from the last time I was in there." Jak hissed, stealing a zoomer and heading for the entrance for the fortress, which was near-by.

"You mean… you didn't get ANY privacy?"

"None. You got used to being watched."

Daxter shuttered. "Prison must've been terrible."

"Like hell… only worse."

Silence reigned again. They pulled up to the surprisingly unguarded front door. Jak walked up, and the doors open, quite unusual. This put Jak on edge. Why would the doors be open? Anyone could walk in here! Even the Baron isn't that stupid. Unless… anyone who made it in here wouldn't live long enough to realize their foolish mistake… Jak thought. Well, it's not like I'm helpless. I should be more than a match for anything I find in here. So Jak walked though the open doors.

They closed instantly behind him as soon as he was inside. Jak spun around instantly and tried to open the door, but it was no use. They were shut tight, they were locked inside.

To make matters worse, Jak heard a slight rumbling behind him and he spun around. A massive tank sat idly in the corner. Daxter didn't realize how idle it was, and he freaked out. "Oh my Precursors! Run Jak!"

"Dax, calm down. It isn't turned on." Jak said, walking up right in front of the front roller. "See." He said when the tank didn't react in the slightest.

"Oh, I knew that." Daxter said to cover up his mistake. "I was just… uh… testing your reflexes."

"Yeah right." Jak said tolerably. He looked around. There were two ways out of the current room. On way was blocked off by a force field, impossible for even Jak to pass, and the other was completely clear of obstacles. "This is almost too easy." Jak said as he walked over to the doorway.

"Don't jinx us!" Daxter hissed.

But it was too late. Fate had already jinxed the Dark Elf. The doorway looked completely ordinary at first, but if Jak had taken the time to examine the doorway, he might have notice the button-like machine that admitted a small, near-invisible ion beam across the doorway. If this ion beam was broken in anyway, all hell would break loose. Unfortunately for Jak, the laser was tripped, by his booted feet.

Instantly, the Eco-lights overhead turned red and alarms began to sound. "Shit!" Jak swore, as he realized he had just tripped the security system somehow.

The Computer voice sounded over the speakers. "Warning, you do not have clearance to use that door. I am authorized to kill on sight. You have been warned. Activating security tank. Have a nice day." The voice said with a monotonous cheer as the tank suddenly activated. It's huge, double barreled laser swinging around, the laser sight coming to rest on Jak's chest, just where his heart was.

Jak barely had the time to leap out of the way before the bullets tore through his heart. However, the tank simply re-aimed at Jak again in its single-minded haste to kill the intruder. The Dark Elf realized that this wasn't a fight that he could win, so he only had one choice; he turned around to face the doorway and ran down the hall.

However, the tank was right behind him. It moved surprisingly fast of a large, lumbering tank, and it could even take the corners with ease. Even with his enhanced speed, Jak was barely able to keep ahead of the machine's bullets. There was another problem too, was this a learning machine? How long would it take it to figure out that if it shot just ahead of it's target, it would get him. Jak prayed to the Precursors that this tank wasn't smart enough to figure that out.

It probably wasn't going to matter anyway… Jak thought as he took another corner at full speed, almost slipping on the prison floor, a potentially deadly mistake. I'll probably get tired or slip or something. For it was true. Jak rarely had to run at full speed for long stretches at a time. He was like a cheetah, extremely fast over short distances, but once you pass that, you have to go back to a normal run. He was getting tired, and he prayed also that he found a way out of this mess before that happened.

Finally, before him, a door! A thick metal one that could hold the tank at bay. Jak put all of himself into one final sprint, and made it to the door. He skidded to a halt and hit the 'close' button with his fist. The door closed quickly, putting six inches of metal between himself and the tank.

Once he was safe, Jak walked over to a wall, put his back against it, and slid down into sitting position, gasping for air. Daxter slumped on Jak's shoulder. "Hey, Jak? Next time you almost get yourself killed, leave me behind. Okay?"

Jak almost laughed… almost. "Come on, Dax. Let's go." He said.

After a fair bit of walking, they finally made it to a door that said 'Ammo' on the front. "This must be the place." Then Jak say that the door could only be opened via a computer that you had to input the password. If you had the wrong password, alarms would go off, bring a lot of Krimzon Guards in their wake. However, Jak wouldn't risk tampering with it, because one wrong move would set off the alarms also. "Great." He hissed. "Now we're screwed."

"What? You can't open the door? All you have to do is…" Daxter paused. "Wait a sec… I know something that you don't know!"

"Dax…"

"Oh my God, this is great! I never thought I'd know something that you didn't know!"

"Just open the door."

"Just give me a second!" Daxter said, pausing. "Wow, so this is what you feel like all the time? Except for now, of coarse…"

"Daxter!"

"Okay, fine, you don't have to be so pushy." Daxter said, jumping onto the computer console and messing around with it for a few seconds, and then the doors opened without complaint.

"Wow." Jak said. "I'm actually impressed. Where'd you learn to do that?"

Daxter scoffed. "Please, any great burglar knows how to open a stupid password lock."

"Burglar? Wait a minute… so let me get this straight." Jak said. "While I was in prison getting tortured, you were out in Haven City stealing things?"

"Wrong, I was looking EVERYWHERE for you!" Daxter retorted. "Of coarse, if something caught my fancy…" Daxter trailed off as Jak frowned. "Hey! Don't look at me like that! How do you think I got those clothes for you?"

Jak looked down at his current outfit. "No… I don't even want to know."

"Aww… don't worry about. He was a big fat guy. He didn't need them anymore." Daxter said with a wave of his paw.

"Shut up!" Jak hissed as he walked into the door. There on one of the barrels was a small pass of some sort. Jak picked it up.

"That's a security pass." Daxter explained. "We will need those to get through the checkpoints located around the City. This one opens up South Town, I believe." While Daxter spoke, Jak pocketed the pass and looked around at his surroundings.

Another tank stood in the corner, but this one was about as active as the first tank… at first. Jak heard voice coming out of a grate in the ground, so he went over for a closer look.

Two Krimzon Guards were standing in a large room, guarding barrels full of Eco. Two Metal-Heads were coming in through a large grate in the wall. Jak wondered why neither of them attacked. The Metal-Heads saw the Guards, and Jak was sure that the Guards saw the Metal-Heads too, unless they were blind. Suddenly, one of the Guards spoke, apparently to the Metal-Heads. "These barrels are the latest shipment of Eco." The Guards said. "The Baron says take them and get out of the City!"

The Metal-Heads growled and began to drag some of the barrels away. More Metal-Heads poured out of the grate and began to move the rest of them. The Guards kept their weapons trained on the Metal-Heads at all times.

"Metal-Heads in the City?" Jak asked quietly, so that the Guards or Metal-Heads below couldn't hear him. "Why are the Baron's Guards giving them Eco?"

Suddenly, there was a rumbling behind them and Jak looked around in horror. The inactive security tank was suddenly activated. But before it had the chance to aim, Jak was off at a run. He leapt over any boxes that got in his way, not even taking the time to go around them. The security tank obliterated these boxes. At the end of the room, a large warhead stuck out of the ground.

"That must be the ammo Torn told us to blow up!" Daxter said as Jak hid behind it.

"Yeah, but how do we destroy it when we've got a security tank on our ass?" Jak demanded.

"You're the hero!" Daxter yelled. "You figure it out!"

"You're the sidekick!" Jak retorted. "You're supposed to help the hero!"

"That's not in my job description!" Daxter complained.

Suddenly, while the duo was arguing, there was an explosion. The security tank had blown something up. The Computer voice sounded throughout the room. "Warning, missile cooling system damaged. Please cease fire!"

However, the tank was programmed to search-and-destroy and not for taking orders. The gunshots continued to ring through the air. There was a second explosion. The Computer voice sounded again. "Missile cooling system severely damaged. System overloading. Please cease fire!"

Then Jak had a brainwave. "We'll use the tank to destroy the warhead. We'll just get it to destroy the rest of the cooling system!" Jak then began to coax that tank's fire on him, but he lead them to the pipes that were the cooling system. It was dangerous work, but it was working. The third pipe exploded.

"System overload. Please cease fire or the Warhead will overload and detonate." The Computer warned. However, while the Computer said this, Jak had gotten the last of the pipes to explode. "Warning, Warhead explosion imminent. Evacuate immediately. Warhead explosion in tee-minus ten seconds."

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Daxter yelled.

"Agreed!" Jak yelled as he ran for a large window.

"Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five…" Jak was almost at the window. "Four… Three…" Jak reached the window. "Two… One…" Jak jumped for the window and crashed through just as the warhead exploded. The blast propelled him out the door and toward the metal roof of a Slum house. Daxter hit the roof and fell to the ground relatively unharmed. Jak, however, was a different story. There happened to be a pipe sticking out of the building, horizontally, an all-too-common feature of Slum housing. Jak happened, in a strange event that strangely resembled Daxter's accident in Dead Town, to land on it on an extremely painful place.

After a moment of terrifying pain, Jak too fell to the ground, the force knocking the air out of his lungs and making him forget the previous pain… almost… After a second, Jak groaned and sat up, looking around for Daxter, and not finding him.

Suddenly, Jak's face blanched and he got up off the ground extremely quickly. It turned out that he was sitting on Daxter.

The orange rat coughed and sputtered. "Dax? Are you all right?" Jak asked.

Daxter continued to cough. "This place has too much excitement…" He commented. "We really need to move back to the country."

Jak shook his head in spite of himself. "Don't worry, we'll get back to Sandover. But first I've got to…"

"Kill Praxis and Erol…" Daxter finished. "We all know, Jak."

"Come on, Dax." Jak said, picking up the rat. "Back to the Hideout."

LES: This one actually turned out a lot longer than I expected, considering that I was trying to remember the stuff I put in the right one. Rest assured, that if I ever recover the real one, this one will be long gone.