Chapter XXIV: Jak Vs. Praxis, Part I

LES: Jak's better and now he's ready to kick some Praxis-ass!

Jak: (feels throat) God, my throat is sore from all that vomiting.

LES: Er… sorry about that… Oh, and thanks to all the people who feel that Jak is dead on the inside in this story. When people send reviews like that, it makes me feel that I have done my job as an author. (Sobs happily)

Muse: (Stares and facepalm)

(March 28, 2269)

So, let's hear this plan." Daxter said, but Jak ignored him, taking in the outside world. It had been a month since he stood out in the fresh air. It was a 'lovely' spring day, Jak was feeling loads better, and he had a plan to get into the Palace. The only good thing about his sickness was that it gave him plenty of time to think, something he wouldn't have done otherwise.

Jak hopped onto a near-by zoomer and began to head to South Town. "Remember when I asked that mechanic how to get into the Palace?"

"Yeah. She said that there was an access elevator… but…"

"But it would only work if we turned on the elevator's power." Jak finished. "Yes, I know. And I also know how we can get that elevator moving." Jak paused, waiting for Daxter to answer. Big mistake, the answer didn't come. Finally, Jak gave up. "Vin."

Daxter gasped. "No! He's a coward!"

"So are you, but you have your uses. Vin will have his, by helping me get into the Palace!" Jak said as he pulled up to the Power Station and walked up the ramp. Once inside, they saw Vin standing to one side and working on a computer. Vin apparently heard Jak's footsteps and spun around. "AUGH!" He screamed, and then he saw who it was. "Oh, it's you guys. Hey, by the way, I wanna thank you two for saving my butt out there at the Strip Mine."

"Yeah, and we wanna thank you for being such a bad shot!" Daxter grumbled, apparently still sore that Vin had almost shot him.

Oh, yeah, sorry about that, guys." Vin said, working on his computer some more. "I'm a bit jumpy these days."

"Jumpy? We hadn't noticed." Daxter said innocently. Then he looked over Vin's shoulder and his eyes widened in panic. "AUGH! There's a Metal-Head behind you!"

"AUGH!" Vin yelled, jumping in the air in fear. "Who the… what the… whoza…" Vin fell to the ground.

"Just kidding." Daxter said. "Nice reaction time, though. Your reflexes are almost as good as Jak's!"

Jak laughed quietly to himself while Vin fumed. "Not funny!" He yelled. "The Metal-Heads have been attacking our mining operations and we're running out of Eco." Vin inspected a computer. "Eco power keeps the shield walls up and if the shields drop… well… we can all kiss our butts good-bye!"

"Haven City has a shield?" Jak asked.

"Of coarse it has a shield!" Vin said. "How else do you think we keep those monsters out in the Wasteland where they belong?"

"Listen, Vin, I saved your life, but you got me help when I got sick, so I know you don't owe me anything… but…" Jak paused. "I need a favor."

Vin shook his head. "I can't help you with your Eco bill."

Jak rolled his eyes. "I need you to turn on the power to one of the old Palace support towers."

Vin blinked. "The Palace support towers? But those are part of the old B-Zone power grid! It hasn't worked for years!"

Daxter seemed ready to give up, but Jak had another trick up his sleeve, a little reverse psychology. "Well, if it's too hard for you, I understand. Power stuff CAN be tricky."

This method worked like a charm. Jak's comment offended Vin. "Tricky? I'll show you tricky!" Vin hurried off to one of the computers and began to punch in commands, muttering to himself. "Now, if I link the B-Zone conduct lines though the bypass grid…" The rest of the speech was completely lost on the duo. But as long as it was going to get the elevator working, Jak didn't really care that he couldn't understand a word of Vin's mutterings. Soon Vin returned to a normal, understandable language. "…And presto! You've got instant lift juice!"

Jak was impressed. "Vin… you're a genius!"

Vin turned red with embarrassment. "Actually, ah… Mar was the genius." He said modestly. "People say he made all the stuff you see years ago… the Shield Wall System… the Eco Grid… everything!" Vin shook his head. "Anyway, to get that elevator moving, you need to find and activate all the old B-Zone power boxes located at various points though the City; there are five of them."

Daxter breathed a sigh of relief. He was expecting something horrible. "That doesn't sound too bad." He said happily.

"No." Vin said casually. "Except the power boxes are guarded by motion-sensing turbo cannons!" Daxter's mouth dropped open in horror but Jak didn't react. He was used to finding things were much harder than they first appeared. At least this time he was forewarned. "But if you can destroy the cannons and activate the boxes underneath, I can do the rest." Vin handed Jak a map of the City with five 'x's on it, three in South Town and Two in the Slums. "Those are the location of the boxes." Jak turned to walk out when Vin yelled after him. "Just don't tell the Baron I helped ya!"

Jak turned around to face Vin. "Don't worry. I do not desire to put anyone in danger, only to make the Baron pay." With that said, Jak resumed walking out of the Power Station.

The last cannon was destroyed and the last box activated when Vin contacted the duo via the TalkBox. "Okay, the elevator is back online. You'll find it in Main Town by the Stadium. Have fun being killed in the Palace!" The line went dead and the Box retreated to Jak's pocket.

"I don't plan on it." Jak grumbled as he jumped back on to the zoomer and tore out of the Slums toward Main Town.

Once they were in Main Town, it was fairly easy to find the tower for it rose several hundred feet into the air, above the surrounding buildings. As they approached, the door opened without complaint and they walked onto the elevator.

As soon as Jak set foot on the platform, it began to move upwards at an incredible speed and he almost lost his balance. It was certainly faster than any elevator he had been on before. Daxter was also shocked by the rapid accent. "Whoa!" He cried out.

Within seconds, they reached the top. It took Jak only a second to regain himself. "That was… fast." He said truthfully.

"I think I left my stomach back on the first floor." Daxter groaned.

"This isn't the time to get sick!" Jak growled.

"Wait? So you are allowed to be sick for a month, but I'm not allowed to get a little motion sickness?" The furry Ottsel demanded.

Jak ignored him and moved toward the door, which opened for him instantly, revealing a long cable connecting the Palace to the support cable to stop it from falling. "My revenge awaits just at the end of this cable." Jak said, mainly to himself. "Piece of cake."

However, Jak spoke just a little too soon, and it seemed that the Baron had an obsession for trip-lasers. Due to an unlucky twist of fate, the Baron had set trip-lasers in the doorway that were turned back on along with the elevator and Jak tripped it. Instantly, the security slammed down hard.

About every ten feet along the cable, an armored gun turret pooped out. And it these guns made the trip hard, the rest made it impossible. Every section of tiles had a job to do, so it seemed. Some tiles were super-heated and could turn an elf into barbeque in seconds flat. Others had spikes on them, and others were electrically charged. There wasn't a single square inch of cable that had been overlooked. Crossing the cable with the traps set was impossible.

Jak blinked and he pulled out his TalkBox. "We'll see about this." He said angrily punching in a number. " Vin?"

"AUGH! Oh, Jak, you scared me." Vin said on the other line. Jak couldn't help thinking that a toothless crocadog would scare Vin. "Why are you calling? Shouldn't you be in the Palace?"

"I should." Jak said. "But we have a slight defense system problem. Can you turn it off?"

"Hmm… Cable PSC-5…" Vin hummed to himself again. "No, I can't. But it can be turned off from there."

"Fine, just walk me through it." Jak said, then he added. "In a language I can understand, if you don't mind."

"It's complicated…" Vin said. "Okay, first things first, go back into the elevator room."

Jak walked back into the room. "Okay, what next?" He asked. Static answered him. "Vin?" More static. "Dammit!" Jak swore. "Just my luck!"

"Must be bad reception in here." Daxter said. Jak growled as he put the TalkBox away. "Great, now what? We're screwed!"

Jak was about to agree when a strange feeling overtook him. It felt sort of like something was invading his body not unlike when he experienced a Dark transformation. However, this was different. Instead of the unspeakable rage that came with a Dark transformation, Jak was filled with a strange calmness. He also felt the grave weight of responsibility. However, what ever had taken over his body quietly accepted the responsibility. Jak grinned, a real type of grin, so unlike him.

"I do not believe that your assessment of the present situation is entirely accurate." Jak stated quite calmly.

Daxter blinked, and stared at Jak, amazed. Even though Jak could talk didn't mean he talked a lot. Hell, there were two four-syllable words in that sentence, a little too 'talky' for Jak. He was also grinning like a maniac. The smile looked plain goofy on his face. Usually when Jak smiled now a days it didn't reach his hollow, dead eyes. "Jak… are you feeling alright? You're not sick again, are you?" Daxter asked nervously.

"I've never felt better!" Jak said quite cheerfully. "But, firstly, I need to disengage this annoying security system."

Daxter continued to stare. More talky-ness? "Jak…" He began uncertainly. "Need I remind you that you don't know how to turn off the booby-traps from hell!"

Jak laughed, like Daxter had made a joke. "Why wouldn't I know? Everyone in my family knows how to turn off such trivial things as security systems. I thought that everyone in Haven knew that." Jak ignored Daxter's look of surprise. "What kind of rock have you been living under?"

"Okay, now you are starting to scare me. What, are you possessed or something?"

Jak laughed as he walked over to the northern wall and began to count tiles. Once he found the one he was looking for, he pried it off the wall, exposing several different colored wires. Jak broke first the green wire, then the blue one.

"Jak… are you sure that's a good…?"

But Daxter didn't finish his sentence as Jak twisted the two wires together like he did this every day. A computer panel popped out of the wall. "Password." It demanded in a monotone.

Jak began to type in what seemed to be a random jumble of letters, numbers, and symbols.

"Jak, are you sure that's…?" But Daxter's voice caught in his throat a second time as all the spikes and guns retracted without complaint and the heat and electric tiles shut off. Jak had slammed the computer back into the wall before Daxter found his voice again. "How did you do that? That was amazing!"

"I…" Jak was about to answer calmly before the feeling left him as quickly as it had come. This left Jak completely dumbfounded. "I… I have no idea where that came from!" Jak said, looking over the defenseless cable in disbelief.

"Well, what ever that was, that was awesome!" Daxter said, then he added in a grumble. "And it gave us our (possibly one-way) ticket into the Palace."

Jak, still highly confused about how he managed to turn off the defense system, seemingly without effort, made sure not to break the laser that went across the door and continued across the cable.

The end of the cable dumped the duo right onto the Palace roof. About ten feet away from their position was a portion of the roof that was made of glass. Large raindrops splattered the surface (for it had begun to rain on the way over.) Jak walked over to the glass and peered in, joined by Daxter. It seemed to be the Baron's Throne Room and Jak half-expected to find it empty. But he was surprised to see the Baron, Erol, and a hologram of what could only be the Metal-Head Leader. They appeared to be having some sort of meeting. Jak's hearing could make out the voices, even through the glass.

"I've told you, I will have more Eco for you by week's end." The Baron said irritably to the giant mug of the Metal-Head Leader. "Then we'll transport it directly to your nest, as promised."

"A deal is of very little value if you can keep up your end of the bargain, my dear Baron." The Metal-Head Leader said with a hiss. "I grow impatient with your puny gestures! Give me the agreed upon Eco soon, or our deal will become void. And believe me when I say that you, your precious city, and all it's inhabitants will suffer greatly if you come up short again!" The hologram disappeared.

Erol erupted, rounding on the Baron angrily. "He's toying with us!" Erol yelled. "Let me lead an assault on the Metal-Head Nest before it's too late! I can take him!"

"Don't be a fool!" The Baron spat as he walked over to the rain-splattered windows, looking down at the City below. "No one's ever penetrated the Metal-Head Nest, you know that. I've seen what comes of such foolish plans…" Praxis paused. "Oh well, I can thank the Metal-head Leader for finishing of our dearly departed King… the fool."

"The Metal-Heads, sir?" Erol asked, to get the Baron back on the topic.

"The Metal-Heads? Strength is their weakness. We play helpless, we train them to eat from our hands, and then…" The Baron trailed off, then rounded on Erol. "Continue with the plan! Tell Ashelin to up her patrols!" Jak listened closer at the mention of a familiar name. "I want that Tomb found!"

"But your daughter has not been… agreeable." Erol said.

The Baron huffed. "I'll see to that problem… one way or another…"

Jak blinked as looked at Daxter in confusion. "Ashelin is Praxis' daughter?" Then Jak's attention was drawn back into the Throne Room at the mention of another, much hated title.

"Any news on our escapee, Number Eleven?" The Baron asked.

"None, sir." Erol answered. "Not in over a month."

The Baron huffed again. "With any luck, it crawled out of the City and got itself eaten by a Metal-Head."

"Though that would be a fitting end for that… freak…" Erol sneered. "I highly doubt that it would be weak enough to fall to a Metal-Head. It is our Dark Warrior, after all. If anything has killed it, it would be Dark Eco poisoning."

"Enough of that Channeling freak." Praxis ordered. "It gives me enough headaches as it is. Let us just assume that it is dead." Jak almost laughed because neither the Baron nor Erol could appreciate the irony that the 'dead freak' was listening to every word they said. By the time Jak turned his attention back to the room below, the Baron was ranting on a different subject. "AND FIND THAT CHILD!" The Baron yelled. " If you spent half as much time looking for the little brat as you spent flirting with that mechanic girl…" Jak blinked. The mechanic girl behind that curtain? Jak could now almost understand her rudeness. "We would've pinned that little brat's royal ass to a wall long ago!"

"As you wish." Erol bowed. "With enough persuasion, I'm sure our spy will…"

"ACHOO!"

Jak jumped in horror as he realized that Daxter had just sneezed loudly. Without thinking, Jak grabbed Daxter and he jumped out of view. Down below, Jak could still hear Erol. "What was that?" A pause. "Could it be?"

"We need to get out of here." Jak said, walking away from the window.

"But… what about the Baron?" Daxter asked, following.

"Now, Dax!" Jak hissed. "I think we've just lost the element of surprise. Wait… you've lost us the element of surprise!"

"Wait… can't you hear that?" Daxter asked.

Jak listened, and then he heard it. It sounded like a low humming sound, like the type of sound a machine makes. Curious, he walked over to the edge of the Palace and looked over the low railing, and gasped. Jak leapt away from the wall just as a large war-machine came into view. Its shape reminded Jak for a Squipus with its mass of tentacles underneath and the Squipus-shaped cockpit. The blacked out windows cleared, giving Jak a clear view of the man inside, the Baron.

"Praxis!" Jak growled.

"Hmm… seems we have a rat in the walls… a rat and his boy." Praxis laughed at his own dumb joke.

The Blaster rifle was out in a second. "We'll see who's laughing soon enough!" Jak roared, sending a shot flying at the machine's cockpit window. However, when the bullet was a mere split second from hitting the glass, there was a flash of green light and a terrible pain in his shoulder. It took Jak a second to realize what had happened. The war-machine must've had some sort of shield, and once the bullet hit it, it ricocheted back at him, hitting him in the shoulder.

Praxis laughed as the wound healed itself, Jak grit his teeth, for it felt like he just got shot again. "Why, I believe it is me who's laughing." Praxis laughed. "Weapons are no use here, Eleven. This shield was designed to deflect all high velocity objects, like bullets." Praxis landed the machine on the ground, its tentacles acting as many legs. "So, have you come back for a few more Dark Eco treatments? Now that we know they are working, we'll be able to improve the design…"

"Death first!" Jak roared defiantly, tossing the useless weapon aside.

"Jak… I really think you should rethink that last statement." Daxter said, eying the war-machine, which bristled with Gatling guns and missile-launchers.

Both elves ignored the Ottsel. "Well, I would've preferred to have you strapped in that chair again, pleading for mercy. But since you seem to believe that death will be a better use of your time…" Praxis grinned evilly. "I believe that I could arrange that for you. Allow me to put you out of your misery!"

The windows once again blacked out and Jak had a split second to decide what to do next. He quickly dodged to the left just as a stream of bullets hit the space that Jak had occupied a second earlier. He quickly took cover behind a small column.

"This is not Hide-and-Seek, Eleven!" Praxis spoke playfully from the machine.

"Great, now what?" Daxter demanded when he realized they only had seconds before the Baron found them.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Praxis roared as he rammed his machine into the pillar. It would've successfully killed him if it were not for his vampiric reflexes. "Now you die!" Praxis roared as he charged at Jak, who was forced to dodge once more.

Praxis spat out some angry comment about Jak, which he himself couldn't hear. The only sound he could hear was the sound of insistent growling. Jak couldn't understand it, but it felt along the lines of: 'Let me out! Let me out!'

Jak was completely confused by the origin of this voiceless-voice until an almost forgotten sensation burned through him… the burning of Dark Eco in his veins.

"Oh God!" Jak yelled as he realized what was happening. He doubled up as the Darkness spread through his body like a wildfire.

"Please don't tell me you're sick again!" Daxter demanded. But Daxter soon realized exactly what was happening to his friend when said friend straightened up and let out an animalistic roar as the changes began. Praxis, who had been watching, couldn't help but stare as the Dark creature that he helped create emerge. The dream he had so long ago was right, it was an amazing creature.

As usual, the skin and the hair changed first, followed closely by the claws and fangs. Jak's blue eyes screwed up in pain as the horns burst from his skull; and when his eyes reopened, they were pitch black.

"So this is my wonderful creation?" Praxis wondered. "Hiding inside that puny little body?" The Dark creature didn't answer, instead, it stared at Praxis with the concentration of a super-predator. "It is too bad that you dislike me." Praxis said. "We could be partners, you and I. With your unstoppable might at my side, we could destroy the Metal-Heads and rule the world!"

But neither Jak nor Dark were fools. Both understood that Praxis was a dictator, through and through, and he didn't believe in 'partnerships.' The demon let out a venomous hiss whose meaning could only be too clear. 'Liar!'

"It is too bad that the creator must run afoul of the creation." The Baron said, getting the gist of what Dark meant. "As much as it pains me to destroy a magnificent weapon such as yourself, I must. You won't fight for me, so you must be destroyed!"

Now, everyone has their own way of dealing with problems. The cowards would run away and possibly jump over the side of the Palace with the thought to end everything. A genius would try to construct some sort of shield-disruption device with available materials. But only one sentence rang through Dark's mind, something he had heard the Baron say earlier. 'This shield was designed to deflect all high velocity objects, like bullets.' But what about objects that didn't have such a high velocity?

The Baron was only a split second away from pounding Dark into the ground, and he only had that long to decide whether or not to test his theory. Then it was decided. Dark leapt into the air just before the Baron pulverized him and waited to see if he'd be deflected upon landing. He was thankful to find that he was able to land on the machine.

"Get off!" The Baron yelled, swinging the machine around wildly in an attempt to get Dark off. The demon was forced to dig his claws into the metal to keep from falling off.

It can to Dark an instantly later why the Baron was so afraid of having a Dark-Eco-channeling demon attached to his war-machine. Whit it had been built to withstand bullets and physical assaults, the armor obviously hadn't been designed to ward off Dark Eco, which the demon was currently full of. Any part of the metal that came in contact with his body began to melt away as if acid were eating it. He was already having to find a new grip, which started melting as soon as he touched it. A brainwave struck him and he pressed his body flat against the metal, which began to melt the vital parts inside.

There was a loud beeping noise, which the demon recognized as a self-destruct sequence. He instantly released his hold on the half-melted metal and dropped to the ground.

"Crap!" A voice from his shoulder swore and the demon realized it was his host's pet. While he himself could heal rapidly from the blast, the pet could not. Dark swiped the scared Ottsel off his shoulder and held him close to his chest (being careful of his claws), and putting his back between the exploding machine and his host's pet.

There was an explosion, fire hit the demon's back and at the same time he felt hundreds of prickles, which must've been shrapnel.

The demon turned around to inspect the wreckage to make sure that Praxis was dead, and gasped at the sight that met him. The Baron was still alive in a half-melted escape pod. The Baron quickly zoomed out of the demon's reach.

"The Dark Powers I gave you can't protect you forever!" Praxis roared back at the Dark creature. "Since I made you, I can destroy you! We'll meet again soon!" Praxis flew away to lick his wounds.

"Yeah, whatever." Daxter laughed, waving after the Baron. "Bye bye!"

Daxter turned back to the Dark demon who was changing back into his regular form. "Okay, Daxter." Jak said once he regained his ability to speak in an understandable language. "I protected you from that blast, now you've got to help me."

"What?" Daxter asked.

Without a word, Jak spun around to give Daxter a good look at his back. Daxter gasped. There were pieces of metal sticking out of his back, ranging from the size of a splinter to a chuck that was about a half-a-foot long. "I can't feel them. My skin must've healed over them. However, just because I can't feel the pain doesn't mean it's not bad for me."

"So Daxter spent the next twenty minutes pulling out the metal. Jak occasionally cried out as soon of the bigger ones came free. Only when Jak's back had stopped looking like a jagged shrapnel pincushion, they headed towards a small cargo elevator that was nearby.

"Man, Torn is gonna be pissed." Daxter said. It was his first really intelligent comment, because he was right.