Act II: The Precursor Stone
Chapter XXV: The Shadow Revealed
LES: Here it is, the start of Act II!
Jak may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was smart enough to know that he wasn't about to be congratulated. The second he walked back into the Underground, he had to endure glances like he was on his deathbed, or like they expected to attend his funeral in the near future.
The reason for this became apparent when Torn summoned them to his office. The second that Jak walked into the room, he saw, not only Torn, but Kor and the young Prince as well.
Torn looked up from his maps as Jak and Daxter entered. "The City's on High Alert. What the hell did you two do?" He demanded.
Jak was about to answer when Daxter leapt onto the table and cut him off. "Ahhh… nothing. We've been… sightseeing… right, Jak?"
"Oh really?" Torn asked, disbelieving, and picking up a piece of paper. "Then why are the Krimzon Guards looking for…" He began to read from the paper. "A dangerous young man with light hair, long overcoat, and a rabid orange RAT on his shoulder!" Torn glared pointedly at Daxter. The Prince also pointed at Daxter as if you say. 'He's an orange rat!'
Daxter gulped. "Uh… could be anyone. Orange is the new black this season!"
Jak waved Daxter off. "Look, we climbed up to the Palace, and we tripped a few alarms." Jak rolled his eyes, like assaulting the main enemy stronghold by himself was no bid deal.
"Oh, yeah, we did that too." Daxter said.
"What?" Torn demanded. "I didn't authorize a strike on the Palace!"
"Hey! I kicked the Baron's ass!" Jak defended himself angrily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Kid cover his mouth as if to say: 'You said a bad word!' Jak sighed. "Unfortunately, he escaped."
"And that's not all!" Daxter said. "We overheard a secret meeting with the leader of the Metal-Heads!"
For the first time, Kor looked interested in the conversation. "You saw the Metal-Head Leader?" He asked.
"No." Jak said. "He was using some sort of hologram. But we heard him talking with Baron Praxis."
"The Baron is bribing the Metal-Heads with Eco!" Daxter interrupted.
"It will never be enough." Kor said. "The Metal-Heads use more Eco a day than this City uses in a month."
"But the Baron's gonna double-cross them." Daxter said.
"Is that so?" It seemed to Jak that Kor held this information in higher priority that the rest of the people in the room. Jak, for example, didn't give a damn how Praxis wanted to win his stupid war. "Well, our good Baron's wonderful 'charm' must've angered someone, because there's word from the Wasteland that Metal-Head armies are on the move again. That last time that happened, we lost Dead Town…"
But Jak wasn't listening. He had just remembered something that Erol had said about Ashelin. "Why didn't you tell me Ashelin was Praxis' daughter?" Jak demanded of Torn, slamming his fist onto the metal table, the resulting BANG making everyone in the room jump. "What exactly is your connection with Ashelin?"
Torn rounded on Jak, an angry fire in his eyes. "That…" He hissed. "Is none of your damn business! Normally, I would suspend you both from the Underground for this breach in our safety. If the Baron had caught you, he would have tortured the location of this base out of you!"
"Don't you dare speak of the Baron's torture!" Jak roared, losing his temper. "I know better than anyone that torture that ass can dish out!"
"As I was saying…" Torn yelled over Jak's rage. "Normally, I'd send you both packing, but since you've already had so much personal time…"
"Personal time?" Jak demanded. "I was sick! I was near-death! I don't call that a great idea for a vacation." Jak put on a mocking voice. "Oh, gee, I think I'll die today."
"Shut up!" Torn spat. "Anyway, since you've been on leave for a month, we can't afford to lose you again." Torn paused, unsure of whether he had just given Jak a compliment or not. Jak grinned smugly, taking Torn's comment as a compliment. Torn couldn't stand that look on Jak's face. "Since you're the one who's stirred up the Wumpbees' nest, you and whiskers here get to move four of our people to new safe houses. Shuttle each agent to a location they specify. Move all of them without any causalities." Torn glared at Jak, making it clear just how much he wanted to push Jak into a hoard of Metal-Heads. "And, Jak, don't you dare screw this up or I'm throwing you out of the Underground."
After Jak had safely transported all the Underground agents and secured that he wouldn't be thrown out of the Underground… for now, Jak walked back into Torn's office. He found Torn pacing, which he did a lot.
"All the men are safe." Jak reported, folding his arms over his chest, and still rather angry with the rebel leader.
"Good." Torn said distractedly. "But we've got bigger problems now. One of our scouts spotted serious Metal-Head activity in Dead Town. Creatures moving toward the Sacred Site… just as before…"
"What happened, ah… 'before'?" Daxter asked.
"The last time the Baron got the Metal-Heads mad, the Leader vowed to destroy one section of the City every day until the Baron made amends. As you can imagine, the common people don't know this. The only reason I know is because I was still a Krimzon Guard back then and I witnessed the Leader's threat. It was shortly after that when I quit. Anyway, the first place the Metal-Heads attacked was Old Haven, the oldest and most populated section of Haven City." Torn sighed. "Those old walls couldn't hold back the Metal-Heads and they broke through. We fought them, but then the Baron pulled all the Krimzon Guards back behind a new barrier that had been built, leaving everyone outside of this new barrier to die."
"So the Baron really is a heartless bastard." Jak said.
"That's what I discovered that day." Torn said. "Anyway, only the Shadow stayed behind, and he single-handedly stopped the Metal-Heads from moving into the other parts of the City. The Metal-Heads gave up, but it left the section in ruins."
"You don't mean… Dead Town?" Jak asked.
"The same. There is a building out there that is considered sacred, and it is extremely important to the Shadow. I want you to go out to Dead Town and prevent any of the Metal-Head creatures from reaching the site. If you are successful in protecting the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be… most grateful. He may even ask to see you." Jak turned to walk out, but Torn called to him. "Hey, I'm probably wasting this…" He slid a large gun mod across the table. "Here's a Vulcan Fury barrel for that pea-shooter of yours. Believe me, you're gonna need it."
Jak took a few seconds connecting the new gun mod to the Morph-Gun. And then, with a push of a button, the Blaster transformed into the Vulcan Fury weapon. The first thing that Jak noted was that it was really heavy for a gun, so it was carried lower than the others.
Jak examined the new weapon with the delight of child who had just been given a new toy… a deadly toy. Torn rolled his eyes at Jak's short display of immaturity, once again reminding the rebel leader of just how young Jak was. He wondered why a young man who wasn't even twenty yet would be so intent on becoming such a large part of their war.
However, Torn couldn't help but be slightly impressed by the young elf. He had never dared to launch a direct assault on the Palace… it was just too well protected. Torn wouldn't do it if he had an army at his back, let alone the few hundred able-bodied fighters that he had. For a single man and his rat to penetrate the inner workings of the hub of Praxis' power was unheard of… and considered damn-near impossible. And, by the sounds of the rumors, there had been a fight in which the Baron had nearly been blown to smithereens. Jak, on the other hand, had come back without any injuries of any kind.
Torn's father had once spoken to him about tyrants. He said that what most tyrants fear above all else are the people that they oppress. The fear that, one day, one among their number would gather the strength and courage to fight back. In this way, most tyrants create their own worst enemy. As Jak left the room, Torn could only wonder if the man who just left his presence was the one that would finally rid this city of the four years of hell they had suffered under Praxis' rule.
"Back to Dead Town." Daxter said. "The creepiest of the creepy."
"I wonder what this 'Sacred Site' is." Jak wondered out loud.
"I've heard some Slummers talking about the Sacred Site once." Daxter said. "They say that the spirits of the past live there."
"Not angry spirits, I hope." And the strange thing was that Jak was deathly serious when he said this. Before his last trip into Dead Town, Daxter told Jak that the place was haunted and he laughed at the idea. Jak didn't believe in ghosts. So he headed off into the maze of ruined buildings. It took only ten minutes in that place to convince Jak that Dead Town seriously creeped him out, what with the disembodied voices and all. And now he was starting to believe that the place really was haunted.
This thought carried him all the way to the entrance to Dead Town and through the double security blast doors.
Instantly, Jak knew that this would be no cake-walk. The very air of Dead Town was thick with the stench of Metal-Head.
He instinctively pulled out the Blaster. "Okay, here's the plan." Jak said. "Find this 'Sacred Site' and then get the hell out of here."
"Amen to dat, brother!" Daxter said.
Jak walked down one of the ruined hallways, the new Vulcan Fury held at the ready. Not too far into the ruins, Jak discovered that Torn was right. He did need the power of the Vulcan Fury. Dead Town was now inhabited by a type of Metal-Head that had a fair resistance to bullets. Besides, if you didn't take it out fast enough, you could find yourself being repeatedly hit with Dark Eco projectiles. The Vulcan Fury was a weapon that wasn't as powerful as the Blaster, nor did it have the wide-field of fire that the Scatter gun had. But the Vulcan Fury did have an insane rate-of-fire that more than made up for these shortcomings. The continuous stream of bullets could literally keep the monsters off their feet until they expired.
Jak had just finished 'taking care' of two of these Slingers. (So called because of the Dark Eco-hurling slings they carried.) And continued to walk down the hallway, his sense of foreboding increasing with every step.
It wasn't until he rounded the corner that he realized the reason for the increased sense of dread. As soon as he saw what was waiting for him, his jaw dropped.
In the middle of a large area that had obviously been the ocean at one point was Samos' old hut! However, it looked like it had been through the mill, but it was the same hut that Jak had visited every day of his life back in Sandover!
Daxter spoke first. "Is that…? Is that…? No, it couldn't be… That's not…"
Jak finally found his voice. "It's… Samos' hut!"
"But how? What? When? Where? Why?" Daxter demanded.
Even as Jak spoke the words, they sounded impossible. "We're in the future, Dax." The young elf paused, piecing together the information. "This… horrible place is… our world!" Jak looked around at the surrounding ruins of Old Haven. "They built a city right where Sandover… our home… was!"
"The future?" Daxter wondered out loud. "But… how could be have possibly come to the future?"
"The Ring… the Rift Gate…" Jak said. "Remember the writing on the Time Map? 'All ye who activate the Time Map will travel through Time and Space.' As crazy as it sounds… we've time-traveled!"
"But then… WHEN are we?" Daxter asked.
"The Oracle said that Haven City was built five hundred years ago. So it can't be any less than that." Jak reasoned.
"Wait…" Daxter said. "If we're five hundred years in the future… how are we supposed to get back home?" Daxter had finally nailed the most important question.
"I—I don't know." Jak admitted.
"Great… just great!" Daxter glared at the hut, as if it were somehow responsible for their predicament. "I thought we just got sent to a far away place, but into the future?"
"Let's just get out of here." Jak said suddenly. For a second, he could've sworn he heard someone calling his name. In his mind, the Dead Town creepiness meter just went up a few levels.
"Fine." Daxter said as Jak turned around and began to backtrack back to the gate that led to Haven City. "At least one good thing has come out of this." Daxter mused.
"What? Finding out our home has been replaced by a city, ruled by a bastard tyrant that tortures people with Dark Eco just to see what will happen?" Jak questioned bitterly.
"No, I mean that we will finally get to meet the enigmatic Shadow." Daxter paused before continuing angrily. "Just what do you have to do around this place to get noticed?"
"That depends on whether or not you WANT to get noticed." Jak said, remembering over two years ago when he had been plucked off the street for some imaginary crime.
Jak pulled up to the outside the Underground Hideout and walked in. Torn greeted them at the entryway.
"The Shadow has decided it's time to meet you." Torn said. "However, he isn't here right now, he's out on… ah… 'personal matters'. But he'll be back soon."
Jak asked the first question that came to mind. "Why's that place in the old ruins so important to you?"
"The old house? It's the oldest house in existence. Many people say it was here before Haven City was. There's a powerful energy force there. The Metal-Heads seem drawn to it and many believe that's why they attacked there first. The whole place seems to be some type of focal point of Eco power." Torn explained.
"Focal point? No kidding. We used to know the guy that lived there." Jak said.
Torn blinked. "No one's lived in that house for hundreds of years."
"This was a LONG time ago." Jak said mysteriously.
Torn shook his head, deciding that it was better not to ask. "Why don't you go rest or something while you wait. I've got to get something done before our next mission." Jak didn't really feel like resting, but he did get the fact that he was being dismissed. Without another word, he headed for the back and opened that false wall and walked into the main Underground Headquarters. The wall closed swiftly behind him, leaving Torn alone.
Once he was sure that Jak was gone, Torn pulled out his personal TalkBox and punched in a number, Keira's number. Keira was the female owner of Bease Racing. Even though she wasn't a 'member' of the Underground she helped the Underground by working on their vehicles whenever they were busted. She also happened to be close to Erol; or rather he flirted with her constantly. Under the right circumstances, she could sometimes weasel information out of him.
The line connected and Keira's voice answered. "Hello?"
"This is Torn." Torn began.
"Oh, I've almost finished working on the transport…" She began, but Torn cut her off.
"That can wait until later." Torn said. "But right now, I need your JetBoard."
"The JetBoard?" She asked.
"Yes, we're gonna send our newbies out to Haven Forest to root out a few Metal-Heads Scouts. Those babies are impossible to catch on foot and they have a high resistance to bullets… you see our problem?"
"Yes, the JetBoard would be perfect for the job." Keira said. "These guys are working for the Underground, right?"
"Of course." Torn said. "Why, I doubt I've ever seen a man more hell-bent on the Baron's death. It is his life-blood. He eats, drinks, and breathes old Metal-Head-wanna-be's death."
"Well, as long as they are helping the Underground… heck, I'll even let your boys keep it." Keira added. "Just send someone over to pick it up."
"Tess okay?"
"Fine. I don't have the time to be dropping things off."
"Still don't have a racer?" Torn asked. "I could get one of my better drivers to work for you."
"Thanks, but no thanks." Keira said. "I can handle it myself… but…"
"But what?"
"I may have to pull Bease Racing from this year's line up in the Class Races." Keira hung up first and Torn put aside the TalkBox with a sigh.
Almost an hour later, Torn walked up to the door that led to Jak's quarters. He briskly knocked on the door and waited. The door opened, seemingly on it's own, then Torn looked down and saw that Daxter had opened the door.
"Oh, it's you." He said. "Where's Jak?"
"He's asleep." Daxter asked.
"Well… wake him up. The Shadow's ready to meet him." Torn turned and walked away.
Daxter closed the door as quietly as possible and turned to look at his friend, who was indeed, fast asleep. Daxter was at loathe to wake Jak up as he barely got enough shut-eye was it was. Besides, this seemed to be a rare, peaceful sleep, devoid of nightmares. It was hard to say, but he figured it was the first time that Jak had slept peacefully in a long time.
But Daxter also knew that Jak wanted to meet the mysterious Shadow, so he would have to wake him up.
Daxter climbed up onto the cot, a poor excuse for a bed, and walked up to the sleeping elf's face. "Jak…" He began softly, hoping not to arouse Jak's deadly rage for waking him up. "Jak." He repeated, just a little louder. "Jak, wake up."
The elf shifted slightly, lifting his head about an inch off the pillow to show that he was waking up. However, he didn't even bother to open his eyes. "Keira?" He asked, groggily.
Daxter almost laughed. "No, it's me… Daxter."
"Dax—Daxter?" Jak finally opened his eyes and saw an orange mug right in front of his face. "Oh, it's you. I thought for a sec…"
"I know what you thought." Daxter said. "Jak, we haven't seen Keira in two years. She's not going to suddenly appear in your… ah… 'room'." Daxter gestured around at the bare walls.
Jak yawned and blinked, trying to clear the sleep-fog clouding his brain. "You're right." He said suddenly, and then he realized that he was treading on dangerously emotional ground, Jak added. "I just… miss her… them." He corrected himself. After all, he didn't just miss Keira. He missed everyone back in Sandover. Except they were long dead… hundreds of years ago.
Daxter stared at Jak, as though he suspected that he missed Keira most of all. Besides, he wasn't about to bug Jak about his emotions. His emotions were now restricted to rage, anger, and, on good days, contempt. "Torn stopped by. He said that the Shadow's here and he's ready to meet with you."
That woke Jak up. Jak practically leapt off the cot and rammed on his boots. Jak grabbed a newly 'acquired' over-coat and threw it on as he marched out the door without Daxter.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Daxter called as he rushed out of the room to follow Jak.
Jak walked into Torn's office, which appeared to be empty. Only a few seconds after Jak entered the room, followed closely by Daxter, did Torn enter the room.
"Jak… Daxter… this is the Shadow." Torn introduced as he stepped into the office, followed by a short figure.
"So, you are the new recruits who keep getting into trouble." The Shadow said.
Jak's mouth fell open in complete shock. He didn't know who he expected the infamous Shadow to be… but it defiantly wasn't this. "Oh no, not you!" Daxter cried.
Indeed, it was a well-known face. It was Samos Hagai, the Sage that had helped raise Jak from a boy in the place of his dead parents. But, at the same time, it wasn't Samos. He was younger looking, and he had an afro. In fact, he looked almost exactly how Jak remembered him from his earliest memories of the Sage. His clothes were also more 'city-like' instead of 'sage-like'. "I am known as the Shadow, but you may call me Samos. And you are?" Samos finished and Jak blinked. Couldn't he recognize them?
"Jeez, Jak," Daxter spoke irritably. "We went through all that to meet his holiness? Old Log-In-The-Head? Grandpa Green?" Neither Torn nor Samos seemed to take these comments kindly.
"But… don't you know who we are?" Jak asked.
"Sorry, kid, never seen you before." Samos said. "And I never forget a face, especially one that ugly." He pointed right at Daxter's furry mug.
"So it begins…" Daxter sighed.
"But… I'm Jak!" The elf began desperately. He never expected to find someone that he knew only to find they didn't remember him. Sure, he did change in prison. He did look older and different, but… jeez! "You raised me from a boy! And Daxter! And—and Keira!"
Both Samos and Torn blinked. "How do you know…?" Samos began, but Jak cut him off.
"I mean, we came though the rift with you." Jak said. "Into the future… right?"
"Yeah! You used to look older then dirt and uglier than a knotted stump!" Daxter yelled loudly. Once again, Samos and Torn frowned. "What gives? Did you get a little 'nip and tuck' while we were gone?"
"Listen boys, I don't know WHAT kind of twigs you've been chewing on, but I don't have time for this!" Samos said. "We've got a Baron to over-throw, a child-heir to protect, an invasion of Metal-Heads to stop, and a city to save. I'd say the schedule is pretty full." Samos looked back at Jak. "Besides, I haven't gone through any rifts. I HATE teleporting."
Daxter rolled his eyes. "Sure sounds like the old Samos."
Suddenly, the door opened and Tess walked in, carrying a device that Jak recognized as the JetBoard. She set it down on the table and looked at Jak. "Good luck." She said simply before she left.
"Ah, yes, good." Samos said, looking at the JetBoard. "Our friend has come through for us again." Samos turned to Jak. "But, right now, I need you to go out to Haven Forest…"
"This place has a forest?" Jak couldn't believe it for one second.
Torn cut in. "It's located outside the City, near the Precursor Mountain Temple."
"Anyway…" Samos began. "I need you to go to the forest and root out a few Metal-Head scouts. That forest is my source of power, but I can't protect it much longer."
Torn took over from there. He slid the JetBoard across the table towards Jak. "A gift from our friendly neighborhood mechanic." Torn said. "You're lucky. She said that since you are helping the Underground, she's willing to let you keep it." Jak grinned as he picked up the 'Board. "Metal-Head scouts are large flying Metal-Heads, so they are impossible to catch on foot and they are immune to Morph-Gun fire. You have to chase them down on the JetBoard, got it?"
"No problem." Jak said casually.
"Just head out toward the Temple, but instead of entering it, turn to the left and ride on the small platform to the forest." Torn said.
Nodding, and with another glance at Samos, Jak turned and walked out of the office, followed by Daxter.
Torn turned to the Shadow. "Did you hear that?"
"My hearing is as good as it ever was, Torn." Samos said. "Not only did they claim to know me, but they also claimed that I 'came to the future' with them. And they…"
"And they claimed to know K…"
"Enough of that." Samos cut Torn off. "The fewer that know, the safer she'll be. There could be spies everywhere."
"Pardon me, but why is it so important that people not know about her?" Torn asked. "She has more security around her than the Kid… and that's really saying something!"
"If people knew about her… if my many enemies found out about her… they'd try to use her to get to me." Samos said. "It's better with her hidden." Samos paused. "You haven't told anyone about her, have you?"
Torn blinked. "No, of course not!" He said.
"Good." Samos said. "Trust me… it's the best thing for her… not to mention the entire Underground movement… even the Kid."
Torn looked for a moment like he was going to pursue the issue, but then he thought better of it. Instead, he nodded and left.
Samos sighed. "If only things were better, it wouldn't have to be this way."
LES: Two major reveals in one chapter? I'm on a roll!