Chapter XXXI: Jak Vs. Praxis Part II

LES: Putting on hold the 'Kick Me' sign bit because there's a better joke for this chapter. Here's another free humor tidbit that's too short to be a regular story!

Jak & Keira: (hugging)

Dark: (thinking) Heehee, this will scare the hell out of Jak's little girlfriend! (transforms and takes control)

Keira: (hasn't noticed Jak's transformation and kisses Dark)

Dark: AUGHHH! COOTIES! (runs away)

LES: Heehee

Dark: I hate you.

LES: I know. Okay, starting off right where the last chapter left off.

The first thing that Jak was aware of was Daxter's voice. "Jak!"

Before the elf could react to anything, something hit him hard on the back of the head and he was knocked to the ground. He could feel the weight of several people pinning him down to the stone ground.

"Good job, men." A horribly familiar voice said. Jak looked up as well as he could and saw Praxis. Several Krimzon Guards were holding him on the ground and Jak could feel that he hands were restrained behind his back. He realized then that he must've been completely helpless while his mind had been stuck in the past.

"Fu…" Jak stared to swear, but he was silenced by a rather hard kick to the face.

"Oh, how I missed doing that!" The Guard that had kicked him said. "Good times, eh, Number Eleven?"

"Capturing you was remarkably easy." Praxis mused. "You didn't even blink when we handcuffed you and put your rat in his cage." Jak looked up and saw that Daxter was indeed trapped in a small cage.

"Praxis!" Jak roared.

"Shut up, you filthy animal!" Praxis spat. "No… I take that back… you are less than an animal. You are a weapon, my weapon, and you will serve my purpose!" Praxis made a slight hand signal that could mean 'pick him up' because the guards instantly grabbed Jak and lifted him off the ground. "So what do you say, Number Eleven? Work for me?"

"Never." Jak spat on the ground by Praxis' feet, signaling his utmost defiance.

"By the way…" Praxis smiled, perhaps choosing to ignore Jak's insult. "Don't even think about using your Dark Eco powers. Those cuffs are designed to give you one helluva shock at the slightest change in your Eco level." Jak merely stared back at Praxis, a look of superiority on his face.

Praxis, apparently, didn't like it when men he considered little more than a mindless weapon considered themselves superior. With the slightest signal, which the Guards instantly obeyed, the butt of a rifle was slammed into Jak's stomach, doubling him over in pain.

Praxis grabbed Jak by his hair and pulled his head up until Jak was looking the Baron right in the eyes. "You were never the most intelligent of the bunch, so I'll make this simple." The Baron hissed. "Give me the Precursor Stone and work for me, and I'll let you live. Any other choice, and you'll die."

"I don't have the Stone." Jak lied quickly.

"Now, don't make us have to use force." Praxis said.

"I was completely helpless before." Jak said with the merest hint of a smile. "What's the matter, Praxis, you too scared to search me then?"

Praxis eyes Jak's clothes, or lack-thereof. "Nothing much to search, eh, Eleven." Praxis laughed. Never the less, he ordered. "Search him." The Guards began to go through what remained of the fabric that had been clothes an hour ago. "Now, I hope you haven't gone and done something stupid like try to hide it where you think we won't look. My men have no problem performing body-cavity searches."

Jak didn't react to this statement. The search, however, didn't go to that extreme. One of the Guards found the Stone in Jak's pocket.

"I've found it, sir." The Guard handed the glowing stone to Praxis, who tucked it away.

"That's mine, you bastard." Jak hissed. "And I'll be taking that back."

"See, that's where you're mistaken, Eleven." Praxis said. "You can't take anything from me when you are dead." The Baron paused melodramatically. "Kill him."

The guards let go of Jak to grab their weapons in a rush to see who would be the one to kill the infamous Dark Eco Freak. It was the worst mistake of their lives.

Now, the only thing holding Jak's hands behind his back were the handcuffs… made of plain steel. With a single swift movement, the Dark elf wrenched his hands apart, snapping the cuffs, and he leapt at Praxis, eyes wild as his dreams were coming true right before his eyes.

Jak tacked the Baron and closed his hands around his throat, the force of Jak's attack sent the Baron to the ground.

The Krimzon Guards reacted immediately and they attacked Jak in an attempt to get him off their leader.

The elf in question completely shut out the pain in his body, Praxis' pain consumed his entire world. Praxis gasped, but was unable to get air into his lungs. Victory, and Jak's revenge was near. His body hurt badly from the repeated attacks of a dozen Krimzon Guards, but he would not allow physical pain to stop him.

But Jak had forgotten that Praxis was a Warlord and he hadn't gotten that title for no reason. Praxis' fist connected with the side of Jak's head. It was quite a blow and it dazed Jak for a second, the second that Guards needed to get the Dark elf off their Baron.

Praxis got off the ground, gasping for breath. He looked up at Jak, grinning. "That was an excellent trick, Eleven. It seems that we underestimated you again." Jak struggled half-heartedly against his captors. He couldn't believe it! He was so close to his goal… and he let physical pain get in the way! Praxis continued his little speech. "However, that is a mistake that I won't be repeating." Praxis drew a large sword from its sheath and Jak was instantly forced to his knees and bent over slightly, so Praxis could have a clear shot at his neck. "This time, I'm going to kill you myself!"

Praxis raised the sword, ready to take off Jak's head in a single fell swoop. "Jak!" Daxter cried from the cage, unable to watch.

But Jak wasn't quite ready to go around with the 'headless' look. Most people in this position would try to force their way up, but Jak knew that was impossible. Instead, he did the exact opposite. He let himself fall down.

"What the…?" Praxis began, but it was too late. Jak hit the ground and rolled over onto his back, kicking out at the first legs he saw. Two of the Guards were brought down instantly, their legs were broken.

During the ensuring confusion, Jak got up off the ground. Several guards attacked him, but Jak never bothered with killing them. That would take too long, it was Praxis that he wanted. Jak approached the Baron, breaking the arms, legs, or knees of anyone that got in his way.

Finally, the Dark elf was standing before Praxis, who now looked worried as all his men were rolling around on the stone floor, screaming in agony. "Are you ready to die, Praxis?" Jak asked.

"You're still wearing the cuffs." The Baron said. True enough, the cuffs were still locked firmly around Jak's wrists. "You can't use any Dark Eco."

"Who says I'm gonna let Dark have all the fun?" Jak asked rhetorically. "I'm going to kill you with my own hands. My pain, my revenge."

Suddenly, the Baron smiled. "Am I going to die the same way that Captain died? Your first kill, I believe it was." He said casually.

Jak's eyes widened in horror. "Shut up!" He ordered.

"I know what he was doing to you, Eleven." Praxis continued, seeing that he was pushing a button.

"Jak? What's going on?" Daxter asked, for Jak had never told him about the infamous 'Captain'.

"Ah, yes, one glorious day without torture. Of coarse, you almost received a different type of torture."

Jak was desperate to keep that secret a secret. If anyone ever found out he… "SHUT UP!" Jak yelled.

"So how did it feel, Eleven?" Praxis asked. "How did it feel to almost become someone's bitch?"

The silence in the room was absolute. Praxis smiled to himself as Jak dropped to his knees. "Jak…" Daxter began but Praxis cut him off.

"That's a good dog." Praxis said. "Now, stay still. This will hurt a lot." Praxis raised the weapon…

As quick as a flash, the fire returned in Jak's eyes and he jumped up and gave the Baron an underhanded blow right in the groin. Praxis doubled over in pain. Jak grabbed Praxis' own sword and held it against the tyrant's throat.

"Who's the dog now, Praxis?" Jak asked. "I can't believe you fell for that 'I'm beaten' trick! It's going to take a helluva lot more that a painful memory to break me!"

"Idiot." Praxis hissed. "You're forgetting one thing."

"What?" Jak demanded.

"I've got the Precursor Stone!" Praxis laughed. Suddenly, he held it towards Jak and the Dark elf went flying into a wall with a flash of green light. He was immediately buried under tones of rock and dirt. Praxis waited for the dust to settle and watched the large pile. It didn't move. "A pity." Praxis looked down at Daxter. "Eleven's rat? Why don't you be a good rat and starve to death down here." With that, Praxis walked out, carrying the Precursor Stone with him.

There was no movement within the Tomb for several seconds except for Daxter trying, unsuccessfully, to squeeze through the bars of his cage. Then a hand appeared from beneath the rubble. Then, within seconds, the rest of Jak appeared. "Jak! You're alright!" Daxter exclaimed.

But Jak didn't appear to hear him. He suddenly screamed in pure primeval rage, and he was practically pulling his hair out. "AUUUGGGHHH!" Jak picked up a large stone that was at least twice his weight and threw it as far as he could, a considerable distance.

"Jak?"

"I HAD HIM! I HAD HIM!" Jak screamed.

"Jak!" Daxter yelled.

Jak continued to ignore him. "He was at my mercy, TWICE! And I failed! I FAILED!"

"JAK!" Daxter screamed to get Jak to hear him over his own rage.

"WHAT?" Jak demanded, wheeling around with an angry fire in his eyes.

Daxter shrank under Jak's glare. "So you didn't kill Praxis, so what? You shook him up pretty badly. He never expected you to get out of those cuffs." At the mention of the handcuffs, Jak glared at the cuffs that were still attached to his wrist, and he ripped them off. "But we've got bigger problems to deal with right now. You can take your anger out on the next guy."

Jak walked over to Daxter and ripped the bars of his cage apart, allowing Daxter to get out of the cage. "And who's the next guy?" Jak asked.

"Torn." Daxter said angrily.

"Torn… why?" Jak asked.

"The Baron was talking before you came to." Daxter said. "You won't believe this but… Torn… he's been passing information to Praxis for a while now."

"What?" Jak demanded.

"Yeah, I know. Even I want to kill him now." Daxter said.

This was the worst crime that Jak could think of, something that even Jak wouldn't do. Jak had his problems, and he had a long list of crimes that he had committed against the City, all of them true, but Jak would never ever sell out his own side. Only the weak would sell out their own side to the enemy. "Then I know my next destination."

"To get some new clothes?" Daxter asked hopefully. "I mean, that almost like 'indecent exposure.' As if you don't have enough crimes to your name without adding indecent exposure."

Jak looked down at the tattered remains of his clothes. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I do stand out. That's why you are going to steal me some new clothes. I'll wait for you in that first chamber." Jak sighed. "I just got this trench coat too… that sucks."

"Stole that trench coat, you mean." Daxter corrected. "Fine, the Master Thief will try to steal you some more clothes to preserve your fragile modesty!"

"Daxter!" Jak said suddenly. "About what Praxis said about my first kill…" Jak paused, wondering if he should tell Daxter the truth. Wait, that was an easy answer. Hell no! "The Baron didn't know what he was talking about. Stupid ass Baron, can't even see straight. Worked out great, though, it put him right at my mercy." Jak wasn't sure if Daxter believed him, but it was better than Daxter knowing the truth.

"Be back soon. Hopefully, Ill find something that'll fit you soon." With that, Daxter hurried off and walked toward the antechamber slowly, killing any of the Guards that were still alive after the fight.

LES: I love the originality of the last two chapters, don't you? The Baron/Jak fight was a lot of fun to write with the more personal one-on-one combat, back-and-forth one-up-manship, several Krimzon Guards, and a near-nude Jak!

Jak: I resent that statement! I did have clothes on!

LES: You mean the tattered remains of your former clothes that look like someone put them through a shredder?

Jak: Uh… yeah… those would be the ones.