Chapter LIIV: Storming the Nest
LES: Will this story have a happy ending? Will Jak survive? Will he die a virgin?
Jak: I resent that statement!
LES: Will he ever learn to dance?
Jak: I resent that statement too!
LES: Will he ever learn how to lower his rock hard shell and wear his emotions on his sleeves?
Jak: That's it! I've had enough of you! (kills LES) Okay, I'm taking over. I survive; become the Greatest Hero that's ever lived, live to the ripe old age of 150 when I'm killed in honorable battle. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
LES: Apparently so.
Jak: What the—I just killed you!
LES: You can't kill me. You see, this is the author's note. Here I rule!
Jak: Aww… fuck!
(October 11, 2269)
Keira had long since fallen asleep against Jak's shoulder, but he could not sleep. His mind was a clock, counting down how long he had to live. It was near morning and he was only thinking about the Metal-Head Nest. 'The answers to you questions and salvation lies in wait in the Metal-Head Nest' Did that mean that his cure was there too?
Suddenly, he felt movement at his side. He looked down and saw that Keira was awake.
"Jak? You're still here?" She asked.
"Your presence is soothing." Jak said. "Why would I leave?"
"Oh… I thought you might have gone to the Metal-Head Nest or something." Keira said.
Jak kissed her. "Yes, but not yet. I'll have to go soon."
There was a slight pause. "Jak? I want to go with you… to the Metal-Head Nest."
Jak stared at her. "No!" He said suddenly. "I can't let you put yourself in danger."
"There's no other way for me to get to the Nest." Keira pointed out. "Besides, I feel safest when I'm with you."
"Keira… you've never been in a fight. Things get crazy… I lose track of things." Jak said. "There's a small likelihood that you'll stay safe. And Metal-Heads are a whole different story! No, I won't put you into that situation!"
"Jak!" Keira said with a very determined face. "I would follow you into hell. Remember when I said that no one should die alone, and you shouldn't either, I mean it. I really do."
Jak shook his head. "No. No! I won't allow it!"
"Please, Jak." Keira said. "I promise to follow every order you give me."
Jak looked away, then down at Keira, and then away again. "Okay." Jak said finally. "But you are to stay close to me and if I tell you to hide, you'd better disappear instantly."
"Fine."
"First to go pick up Daxter." Jak said.
As I had mentioned before, Daxter spent the night at the owner-less Hip Hog bar. As soon as Daxter saw Jak and Keira within two feet of each other, he began to get ideas.
"So… you two spent the whole night… together… alone?" Daxter winked at Jak boyishly.
"Nothing happened." Jak hissed through clenched teeth.
"Yeah right. I know you two." Daxter said.
Then it was a short drive over to the air train. Everyone got out, including Keira. "Wait… wait, wait, wait, wait! Is Keira coming too?"
"Yes." Jak answered shortly.
"Wait! We're going to the Metal-Head Nest! And you're dragging Keira along?"
"I'm not dragging her along! Just the opposite. I told her not to come with me." Jak said.
"But it's the only way for me to get to the Ring to go home. I want to go back to Sandover too, you know. Don't you guys."
"Hell yeah!" Daxter said.
Jak looked off into the distance and didn't answer. Keira noticed this. "Jak?"
"I'm not even sure if I'm going to live. It's no use taking back a dead body." Jak said. "Besides… I'm not so sure I want to go back anymore, now that I think about it."
Daxter and Keira stared at Jak, amazed. "What? You don't want to go back?" Daxter asked.
"Why?" Keira asked.
"I don't know." Jak sighed. "It's just that… even if I do get better. Well… this place is really familiar."
"Sandover is familiar too, buddy." Daxter said. "We grew up there, remember?"
"Ever since I came here… or at least after I broke out of prison, I've felt like I… well… belong here." Jak said. "Everything here is so familiar, like a place from a forgotten dream. Besides, it's not as if I'd belong at Sandover anymore, seeing how much I've changed."
"Jak? You're not going home with us?" Keira asked. Jak didn't answer, he couldn't.
"Let's just go." He said. They jumped into the back of the transport.
The driver looked around. "Where to?"
"The Metal-Head Nest." Jak said.
"Wh—wh—what?" The driver asked. "Are you crazy? The Metal-Head Nest?"
"Listen…" Keira said. "We'll pay you." She said, taking out some Haven currency.
The driver glanced nervously at Jak. It seemed that he recognized who he was. He especially saw the evil look in Jak's eyes. "No… no pay necessary." The driver said. "I'll take you." The transport door closed up and they began the long journey to the Metal-Head Nest.
The man landed a short while later. "I'm not going any closer." He said.
"Fair enough." Keira said. The door opened and a Grunt instantly tried to get into the back.
Keira screamed and Jak pulled out the blaster, killing the monster.
"That's it! I'm out of here!" The driver said. He began to take off. Jak grabbed Keira and jumped out of the transport before it took off. It flew as fast as it could back towards Haven City.
"Well, no going back now." Jak said, watching the transport take off. He turned and studied the landscape. Everything was dead and dark. The few plants that managed to survive seemed to be infected with Dark Eco. It was not uncommon to have several Dark Eco pools in a single area. The ground was covered with the old remains of a battle. There were old tanks that had turned over and long since rusted. But, most horribly of all, the Elvin skeletons that lay scattered across the ground. Some were horribly mutated indicating a death by Dark Eco. The Metal-Head Nest, an impenetrable fortress of spikes rose in the near distance.
"Nice place for a vacation isn't it?" Daxter asked jokingly.
"Daxter, please shut up, this is deathly serious!" Jak spat. Jak glanced down at the blaster in his hands. He sighed and pushed the weapon into Keira's hands.
The she-elf held the weapon uncertainly. "What about you?" She asked, concerned.
"Don't worry about me." Jak said. "I'm never unarmed." To prove his point, Jak swiftly materialized a Dark Eco blade in his grip. "Now, first things first, we've got to find Mar's Gun or we'll never get inside."
The trio glanced around for a second, before Daxter spoke. "Oh my God! It's huge!"
"What?" Both Jak and Keira looked around. Daxter pointed off into the distance.
He was right, it was huge. It towered over the surrounding landscape. The five hundred year old weapon blended in with the countryside almost perfectly, making it near invisible. "Let's go." Jak said, walking off slowly with Keira following two steps behind.
They made it to the base of Mar's Gun with little incident, other than the fact that Jak carved a path of destruction towards the gun. It seemed most types of Metal-Heads lacked a decent Dark Eco tolerance, while others were cut to ribbons on Jak's blade.
The group stepped on to the elevator that moved them up to the control panel. Jak's TalkBox activated, it was Ashelin. "There isn't much time now. With the shield wall down, it's just a matter of time before the Metal-Heads overwhelm us. My advice? You and you friends should go back through the rift back to your own time and get away from this horrible place."
"I see you're point." Daxter said. "Let's go, Jak… Keira?"
Jak took out the Precursor Stone and put it in a slot that was the same size and shape as the small glowing stone. It fit perfectly. "This place is worth fighting for." Jak hissed.
"We'll hold out as long as we can. Good luck, Jak." Ashelin hung up.
"So… what next?" Keira asked.
The weapon began to charge up its shot. "Precursor Stone…" Jak said, tapping said stone. "Gun… Nest!" Jak grinned wickedly.
"Light 'er up, padre!" Daxter exclaimed.
Jak laughed manically. "Hahaha! Eat this!" Suddenly, the most powerful weapon in the world fired. The landscape lit up as a massive beam shot at the Metal-Head Nest. The result was a resounding explosion as the beam impacted, destroying a section of the wall, opening a path into the Metal-Head Nest.
"That outta wake them up." Daxter said.
"Let's go take care of business." Jak continued to grin wickedly.
"You mean—go in there?" Daxter asked, hiding behind Jak's back. "Um… I'm right behind you."
"I'm right here with you." Keira said.
"Then let's go." Jak said, taking the elevator back down with Keira.
The next stretch of path was defiantly the toughest yet. Dark Eco surrounded both sides of the narrow path, and an enormous Metal-Head guarded the path. The monster didn't all out attack, but it emitted electricity from its sides.
This stumped the group for quite a while. Jak could've easily made it across the Dark Eco with the Jet Board, but then Keira would have been left behind. He couldn't allow that.
Finally, Daxter was the one who figured it out. Jak didn't like it, and Keira didn't like it, but Jak had to admit it was the only way.
Daxter had remembered the time that Jak had survived several minutes in a pool of Dark Eco in Mar's Tomb. Jak pointed out that he had almost died, and Daxter countered that the only reason that Jak almost died was because he almost drowned.
"Besides, if you hold the Precursor Stone, it should keep the Dark Eco at bay." Daxter said.
"Great, that sets you and me, but what about Keira?" Jak asked.
"Carry her." Daxter said instantly.
"Uh… excuse me?" Jak growled.
"What? What's the big deal?" Daxter asked. "You spent a whole night alone with her when you two are obviously head-over-heels in love with each other, but you won't carry her?"
"She didn't spend the night with Dark!" Jak said. "The only way I can cross that much Eco without dying instantly is if I'm in my Dark form."
"Keep your mind and watch your claws." Daxter suggested. "Oh, and try to keep the Dark Eco sparks that radiate from your body under control."
"Okay, okay, I'll do it." Jak said. "Keira… do you trust me?"
Keira remembered the time after the Class One race when she had walked in on the Dark Monster that Jak could become. When he had his mind, he was nothing more than a frightfully powerful and more evil-looking Jak. "Yes, Jak, I trust you." She said.
Jak nodded, then took several steps back from Keira and Daxter. He closed his eyes and let his rage flow through him awakening the Dark Eco that lay dormant inside his bloodstream. But he kept his mind in control. Jak cried out as the pain of the demonic transformation overwhelmed him.
Keira watched, horrified. It was the first time that she had witnessed her beloved's transformation. She never thought it would be a painful ordeal. But, as she watched, she couldn't thing it would be anything but painful. Horns tore out of his forehead, claws grew from his fingernails, fangs grew. His skin paled until it was a deathly gray color and his hair turned gray also. His blue eyes turned into pitch black eyes. Random Dark Eco sparks ran over his skin.
"Jak? I that you?" Daxter asked cautiously.
The Dark Monster nodded.
"Are you ready to go?" Daxter asked.
The Demon nodded again.
"Good." Daxter said. "Don't worry, Keira, that's Jak inside that shell."
"I know." Keira said. She could see Jak looking out of those strange eyes. The random Dark Eco sparks that spread across Dark Jak's skin stopped. He walked slowly towards Keira in an attempt to prove that he was still himself.
When he reached Keira, he picked her up bridal-style, while being extremely careful with his claws. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Daxter took his usual spot on Jak's shoulder. Jak moved toward the Dark Eco and stepped in. Keira felt Jak's body tense as if he was resisting the urge to cry out in pain. He waded in to his knees and slowly waded across. Keira looked into Dark Jak's eyes, the same black eyes that so many feared. But she did not see anger or rage… she only saw pain and a deep resounding sadness.
"Oh Jak…" Keira sighed.
"Oh pul-ease!" Daxter groaned.
Dark Jak looked down at her with tormented eyes. The look he gave her said: 'It hurts, but I won't drop you… ever.'
"I know." Keira answered.
Finally they reached the other side and Jak gently set Keira down. He took out the Precursor Stone and held on to it for several seconds.
"What is he doing?" Keira asked.
"Flushing his system of extra Dark Eco." Daxter said. "He may have Eco Poisoning already, but more Dark Eco would only kill him faster."
"We don't want that!" Keira said.
Jak slowly changed back to his normal form. He pocketed the Precursor Stone. "Let's go."
"Why?" Daxter asked. "Don't you need to rest?"
"I don't have much more time." Jak said. "This needs to be finished right now."
LES: Next chapter: Climax!