Chapter L: The Underport
LES: Chapter Forty! Can you believe it? This is the first story I've ever written that's broken forty chapters! Yay!
Fans: Yay!
Jak: Boo!
LES: Do you still hate me after almost three years?
Jak: Don't flatter yourself. I hate almost everyone. It's just who I am.
LES: Right… and it's just who I am to make you strip dance for a bunch of raving fan girls!
Jak: Try it, and you'll die!
LES: Your life is in my hands!
Jak: Oh yeah?
LES: (writes) 'And Jak died. The End.'
Jak: (dies)
LES: Oops…
Jak pulled up to the Hip Hog bar, owned by the now late Krew. Jak walked in and Tess met him at the door.
"Oh, Jak. I think you should know that I saw Krew hide something in that game." She pointed at an arcade-type game in the back. "And, what ever it was, he looked really nervous."
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, Krew won't be needing it anymore." Daxter said. "He's, shall we say, 'not all together' these days. Step aside, Jak!" Daxter ordered. "Let the 'game playa' do his stuff!"
"You're such an animal!" Tess commented.
Daxter jumped up on the arcade game, took the mallet in his little paws, and began to whack the small Metal-Head heads as they popped out of the holes.
Jak walked away and sat down at a table, absorbed in his own thoughts. I can't believe I've only got a few more days left to live. I'm only nineteen and I'm dying? How could it come to this? I only wish… if there was one thing I could do over, it would have been to tell Keira that I loved her every single chance I got. We could've had years… if only I had allowed myself to come to grips with my true feelings.
Both had lost their first kiss, one that, by all rights, should have been with each other. Keira had kissed Tigran as he lay dying to fulfill his dying wish. Jak nearly lost even more than a first kiss back in prison… If Dark hadn't rescued him, he could've been… raped.
The memory popped unbidden to the surface of Jak's mind. Jak screwed his eyes up against the painful memory, which still haunted him after nearly two years. He could still smell the cheap booze…
He shook the memory off. That was in the past, and it couldn't be changed. However, the past was all he had, it wasn't like he had much of a future. Jak closed his eyes and let himself drift off into happier times.
(Flashback)
He had always known of the young Keira who lived with Samos, the Green Sage. She went back as far as his memory did, ten years ago. So why was he suddenly thinking of her differently?
A fifteen-year-old Jak sat on his bed, highly confused. He had always been good friends with Keira Hagai. In fact, they were more brother and sister than friends. And they had both known each other since forever, since even Keira shared the strange memory blank of their earliest years. So why was he thinking of her this way?
It's something every teenager goes through eventually, a heightened interest in the opposite sex. Friends that are girls suddenly become a boy's crush. This was happening to Jak with the fourteen-year-old she-elf.
He blushed as she came back into his mind. His teenage hormones began to create rather embarrassing fantasies involving himself and Keira.
Jak mentally slapped himself. He couldn't keep thinking about Keira like that. She was a friend… nothing more… right?
(End Flashback)
Jak scoffed quietly. He remembered those so-called 'embarrassing fantasies'. They weren't that embarrassing. But to a naive fifteen-year-old, they were. Mostly they involved kissing and making out.
They weren't anything like the modern fantasies that Jak had been having about her, ever since they had met up again. Maybe it was because he was older, more mature, that his new fantasies involved a large bed, lots of heat, and soundproof walls.
However, those particular fantasies could never, ever come true. If he was weak and gave into those primitive urges, thereby making her love him even more than she did now, not to mention his love for her… it would only make the expected eventuality of his death harder on the both of them.
But… it made him wonder. What if he never found out that he was going to die? Would he have allowed such a relationship?
Easy answer. Of course! He would most definitely start a relationship with Keira and hope that his fantasies would come true. But… what if Keira didn't want that? He wasn't so sure of that. He wouldn't rape her… not in a million years. But what he wanted more than anything in the world was just one night in bed with the woman he loved.
But, he couldn't… by the damn Precursors, he couldn't do it!
Suddenly, a loud triumphant shout brought Jak out of his inner-most thoughts. It seemed that Daxter had beat the score necessary to dislodge the item. Jak got up and walked over, standing next to Tess.
The Time Map, of all things, suddenly flew out of one of the slots. "The Time Map!" Daxter exclaimed as the artifact landed on the ground. "You know, sugar-plum…" Daxter began to Tess. Jak and Tess looked over at the door as it opened and their faces blanched. Two Metal-Head Grunts had just walked through the door, and they probably were not looking for a drink. "If any REAL Metal-Heads came to town, I'd bonk 'em just like I did in the game!"
"Daxter…" Tess began, shaking.
Daxter ignored her, still completely oblivious to the two Metal-Heads, which were approaching Daxter in a manner that suggested that they thought he was dinner. "They'd be all 'Don't hurt me, please!' And I'd be all: 'Too late, Metal-Monkies! You die screaming!' Know what I'm saying?"
"Um…" Jak said, pulling out the Blaster.
Daxter turned around and finally saw the gaping maws of the Metal-Heads. He could count how many teeth each one had. "Jak! I think these trophies still walking!" Jak fired at the Metal-Heads, their lifeless corpses fell to the ground. "Ma-ma-Metal-Heads? Metal-Heads in the City?" He panicked. "Where's Sig when you need him?"
"Sig?" Tess asked. "I think Krew sent Sig on one last mission… something about using Mar's Ruby Key to open some doors in the Underport."
Jak's eyes widened. A new piece of the puzzle just fell into place. "Of course! Come on, Dax, we need to get to the Underport right now!"
Tess picked up the Time Map. "What do I do with this?"
"Do you know a Keira Hagai?" Jak asked.
"Yes."
"Well, take the Time Map to her." Jak said. "She'll know what to do." Then Jak left the building.
"Don't worry, angel-cheeks." Daxter said to Tess. "Your hero shall return shortly." He bowed elegantly to Tess before he ran to join his friend outside.
Jak was in shock. It wasn't just those two Metal-Heads! Haven City was crawling with them! The TalkBox activated and Vin's panicked voice came over the speakers. "The Shield walls are down, I repeat, the Shield walls are down! It was sabotage! Kor did it!" Jak and Daxter looked at each other in surprise, but Vin screamed over the speakers. "I can't hold them back much longer! The Metal-Heads are at the door! They're breaking through! AUGH!"
Jak grabbed the TalkBox right out of the air. "Vin! Are you alright?" No answer. "Do you need help?" Vin didn't reply, this time, only static answered. Jak hung his head and turned off the TalkBox.
"Is he… dead?" Daxter asked.
"I don't know… but it won't do us any good to hope." Jak said, staring at the speakers. "Do you think Vin was telling the truth. Do you think Kor shut off the shields?"
"This ain't the place to discuss it, man." Daxter said.
"You're right. We can figure this out and mourn the dead later. We've got to go." He began to run for the Underport entrance, which he learned was nearby.
Daxter spoke while Jak ran. "Do you want me to mourn you if you die?"
Jak thought about this for several seconds, then he said: "No."
"Why?" Daxter asked as Jak jumped up and stole someone's zoomer to avoid the Metal-Heads on the ground. Jak took off.
"Because I'll be somewhere better than this place." Jak said. "I won't be in pain anymore. I won't have to deal with this shit anymore. For the first time…" Jak paused, as though embarrassed to finish his thought. "I'll know the true meaning of peace."
"But I don't want you to die." Daxter said.
"I don't want to die either." Jak said. "But there's nothing I can do about it. People tell me there's hope, yet… I do not see it."
It had been a long journey through the Underport. Long, but rather uneventful. There was nothing down there, absolutely nothing.
Suddenly, the sound of combat came to Jak's sensitive ears and he rushed forward. He ran around a corner and saw Sig firing at unseen enemies.
Now, Jak should have known better then to surprise a highly-strung warrior, but still… "Hey, big guy…" Jak said stupidly. The large elf spun around at the noise and fired at Jak's head. The young elf was forced to duck to avoid getting his head shot off.
"Get your skinny ass over here and start shooting!" Sig ordered when he saw that it was Jak that he almost killed. Jak pulled out the Blaster and walked over to the elf, looking around for whatever he was shooting at. But they appeared to be gone. "Man, was I set up! Krew sent me down her to open these giant stone doors with that Ruby Key you found." Sig glared at Jak, like the whole situation was his fault for finding the Key in the first place. "And when I did, Metal-Heads came streaming in from some passage outside the City. It's like they were waiting for me… There's one!" Sig fired at an incoming Metal-Head Grunt, and it died instantly.
"Krew betrayed us all." Jak hissed.
"When I get my hands on him…" Sig growled.
"Krew's dead."
"Yeah? Well, he's lucky! Cause he would not want me to catch him alive!"
"The Metal-Heads must've promised Krew plenty for him to betray the whole City like this." Daxter pointed out.
"I say we get the hell out of here." Jak said. Everyone agreed.
"Come on, move it before more come back!" Sig said, moving forward, PeaceMaker at the ready. Jak put the gun away and materialized a broadsword and he slowly followed Sig into the next hallway.
They only made it a few steps when the wall behind them bulged as something extremely strong hit it. Sig and Jak spun around, weapons ready. Something impacted the wall again.
"What's that?" Jak asked. He knew of no natural creature that could bust down a solid stonewall.
"We're about to find out." Sig said. He was right. The wall crumbled as the thing impacted the wall again. A huge Metal-Head reared from the dust. Its mandibles open wide in a roar and its many-legged body trailed behind it. Its entire body was covered in thick armor. "Metal-Pede!" Sig yelled. "Attacking this one will only make it mad! Run!" Sig turned and ran down the hall.
Jak only hesitated for a second before he turned and ran after Sig, the Metal-Pede right behind. Jak swiftly caught up with Sig. Sig was carrying heavy armor and weapons, Jak wasn't carrying any heavy equipment and he had superhuman speed. He could've easily passed Sig and left him behind. But he couldn't leave Sig behind to deal with that monster on his own. A hole appeared in the ground before them.
"The hole!" Jak yelled. Jak ran up and jumped in, followed closely by Sig.
They hit the ground below and they looked up. The Metal-Pede tried to get through the hole, but it was hopelessly small. It roared down at them, and then moved on somewhere else.
"Looks like we lost 'em." Sig said. "The hole, cherry? Good thinkin'!"
"Let's just get moving." Jak said. "We can congratulate each other later."
"Right you are, Chilipepper."
They moved on down the new hallway, taking out random Metal-Head creatures as they came to them.
Suddenly, a wall to the left bulged. "Oh oh, here comes that bad boy again. Run!" Sig yelled as the monster busted through the wall. This time, Jak did not hesitate at all. Instead, he followed Sig instantly.
Soon, they came to a bridge. Jak reached it first, but he stopped for Sig to cross first. Sig crossed it, but the Metal-Pede was awfully close. Jak turned and ran across the bridge. However, it wasn't a very strong bridge. As soon as the Metal-Pede stepped on it, it crumbled under Jak's feet. Surprised, Jak didn't have time to jump to the edge. Only his forward momentum carried him forward, and it would not be enough. Then, something grabbed his hand. It was Sig. Jak hit the side of the bottomless pit, but Sig held on to him to stop him from falling into the darkness below.
Sig pulled Jak up and back onto solid ground. As soon as he was safely up on the platform, Jak gasped. "Sig, you saved my life!"
"Think nothin' of it, Cherry. You would've done the same for me, admit it." Sig said.
"Okay, I admit it."
"Now, let's get the hell out of here."
Jak looked over the edge of the bottomless pit, into the inky blackness that he almost fell into. "Agreed."
They walked a bit further then they came to a new bridge and Jak hurried across. He looked ahead and saw the elevator that would lead back to Haven City. "Come on!" Jak called back to Sig. "We're almost to the elevator!"
Sig came to the bridge and walked halfway across. "Looks like we finally lost that Metal-Pede. Piece of cake, huh? Now you boys are REAL Wastelanders! I say we take this fight to the Metal-Head Leader himself! What a trophy he'll make!" Jak grinned at the thought. "We just need to find a way to juice up Mar's old gun then BOOM baby! We storm the nest, guns blazin'! Hell, we'll take 'em all on together! You and me, side by side! Nothing will stop us, cause we're…"
But Jak never found out exactly what they were. The ceiling above crumbled and the Metal-Pede fell through the roof and right on Sig. The bridge collapsed, sending both into the dark abyss below. "Sig!" Jak yelled, falling down on his hands and knees to gaze into the darkness, but even his eyes couldn't pierce the black. Jak looked away, closing his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth to stop the tears that were threatening to come.
"So… ah… do we have a Plan B?" Daxter asked.
"No." Jak said, standing up. "We're gonna do exactly what Sig told us."
"What?" Daxter demanded.
"That's right. The Metal-Head Leader has haunted my dreams for years. We are going to storm the Nest and kill him."
"Uh… and how are we supposed to do that?" Daxter asked. "This isn't like it's a normal Metal-Head! This is the freakin' Metal-Head Leader we're talking about!"
"First things first," Jak said. "We need the Precursor Stone to power up Mar's old gun."
"Great plan." Daxter said. "But you're forgetting one small detail. Praxis has the Precursor Stone!"
"Then we'll have to get it back." Jak said. With that, he turned and stormed to the elevator, allowing it to take him to the City above.
LES: Wanna know a secret?
Jak: No.
LES: Too bad. Jak only has two more days to live!
Jak: Is that supposed to make me feel better?
LES: Uh… no, not really, no.