Red Mage 04- The question "if the bad guy can teleport anywhere at any time, then why doesn't (s)he just zip in, grab the artifact, and leave before the adventurers have even finished the nerve-wracking puzzle on the third floor?" is indeed answered. Because otherwise they'd never get to monologue and taunt the heroes. The Power I gave you, hope it can come in handy, and is Keira the LEU? I know I gave you the list, and in turn, thank you for e-mailing it back to me. And for the record, this is Chapter Fifteen. You gotsa lay off the rancid Yakow milk there buddy:P.
Animedragongirl- Sorry about the capitalization thing. I got so caught up proofreading the last chapter that I forgot to spell check. Stupid of me huh? Anyhow, I think I have the paragraph thing down, please let me know how I do on that, if I haven't chased you away yet.
Disclaimer: I don't own this, hasn't anyone figured that out yet? Cough lawyers cough.
The Mountain's Mysteries
Jak yawned as he steered the Zoomer through the gaps in small icebergs that were beginning to litter the ocean. Although it was getting harder, which meant it was getting more fun in Jak's opinion, he had been doing nothing except drive in a straight line for the past three quarters of an hour. The most exciting thing that had happened was he watching the island in the distance get bigger. Jak shook his head to clear it of the lethargy that remained. Keira mumbled something in her sleep behind him and tightened her grip on his waist. Jak wondered what she was dreaming about as he dodged a few more icebergs, but forgot about it as he felt the temperature begin to drop. Where it had been pleasantly cool, it was now quickly becoming bitter cold. Daxter was contently asleep in Jak's backpack as usual. Jak made a left followed by a quick right, wishing he could go faster. He loved going as fast as he could, pushing his limits as he was forced to maneuver the Zoomer with lightning-quick reflexes.
A sudden crunching sound behind the Zoomer caught Jak's attention. He slowed down and turned around as it got louder. His eyes widened slightly in disbelief as he saw a twenty-foot wave heading towards the land. He quickly did a sharp one-eighty and took off. Keira woke up as the Zoomer shot forward and shrieked in shock. The unexpected sound from her caused Jak to pull sharply to the left. As he straightened out, Jak felt something shift behind him and noticed the Zoomer had gotten much lighter. He turned around just in time to see Keira smash her head against a floating piece of ice and fall into the water. His heart stood still for several seconds as he saw the wave get closer and Keira's body begin to sink into the icy depths.
Reacting at last, Jak drove up to her and pulled the Zoomer back to bring it to a complete stop. He reached down and felt her hand; it was colder than the water he heaved her out of. Jak pulled Keira's body out of the water and placed it in a sitting position n front of him so that his chest covered most of her back. He wrapped his legs around hers and turned his Red Eco Box on, hoping the extra heat it provided him would transfer over to her. He revved the engine a few times to warm it back up and took off like a shot. Dodging the icebergs as he hurtled through the water a sixty miles an hour, Jak willed the Zoomer to go faster, even though he knew he would likely hit something if he went any faster. Jak thought bitterly how he had wished he could go faster before. The Precursors must have a really sick sense of irony, Jak thought. Sure, he could now go faster, but at what cost? Risking being crushed by a tsunami behind him and running the risk that Keira might die of hypothermia if he didn't move fast enough? It hardly seemed fair in Jak's eyes.
As the island drew closer, a scraping sound made Jak look down. He sent a few curses at the ice as he saw an ice shard imbedded in the side of the Zoomer. What worried him more was the blue liquid seeping out around the hole. Jak turned the Zoomer off in an attempt to stop the leakage and was relieved to see it ebb a little. He turned his Blue Eco Box on and levitated the Zoomer. He shot forward so fast that he thought he would fly off the end and he tightened his grip. As he landed on the beach, he continued going, hoping to reach a town before Keira's condition became serious. The wave behind him finally reached the landed and shattered upon the ground. The resulting shockwave caused the Zoomer to buck forward and Jak went flying forward. He grabbed Daxter out of his pouch and placed him on Keira's stomach. As they got closer to the land, Jak spun around so that he crashed and the others were unharmed.
Jak stood up and waited for Daxter to climb up his shoulder. When Daxter did not, Jak looked down and saw Daxter had his face in Keira's chest. Jak got very angry and picked Daxter up by the scruff of the neck. When the former elf did not respond, Jak took a closer look at him and saw that he had been knocked unconscious. Jak gently stored Daxter's furry body inside his backpack and picked Keira up, Channeling Blue Eco again in the hope he could find a nearby town. Unlike so many times in the past, he did not feel the power of Blue Eco seep into his body. Looking down at the Eco Readout, Jak stared at the 0 that was showing. He took a deep breath and willed himself not to panic.
Jak flipped the switch on his Blue Eco Box and turned his Red one on instead. He knew the extra heat it would provide for him would enable him to stand the cold, and it might help to keep Keira warm as well. After standing behind a tree and warming up, Jak quickly took stock of the situation. He was stranded on Snowy Mountain Island with no Blue Eco, which meant he couldn't fly to the nearest town. There was a raging snowstorm going on, and it looked like it might get worse. Jak put his ear to Keira's chest and was rewarded with the sound of a steady heartbeat. Jak sighed in relief; she was not in immediate danger of dying, but unless he did something quickly, she might get sick or, even worse, hypothermic. In order to ensure her health, Jak would have to warm her up. The question was how did he do that? Fire was the most obvious choice, but that was impossibility. Any wood out here would be soaked and useless, and even if he did find a way, there was no chance he would be able to light it. He had no matches and had not been able to recharge his Yellow Eco Box since using it all on Misty Island. Green Eco would be able to heal her if frost bite set in, Jak that was worst case scenario, and Jak didn't want to even thin about that.
Glaring up at the sky as if he could yell at the Precursors, Jak averted his gaze to the broken Zoomer, almost as if it was his fault. In a fit of rage, Jak kicked the Zoomer; a very unwise thing to do considering all it did was alleviate none of his frustration and gave him a pain in his toe. As he hopped on one of his feet, Jak struggled to keep his balance and saw a camouflage-colored bag on the back. He slung Keira's body over his back, keeping one of his hands on the back of her legs to ensure she didn't fall back, and opened the bag. Inside was the answer to his prayers. Jak now remembered Samos saying something about putting an emergency kit on the back of the Zoomer. He saw wood, two sets of sweat clothes, matches, a blanket and a sleeping bag. Jak laid Keira down on the snow for a quick second so he could hoist the bag on his back. He quickly picked her up and started running to find a cave.
After about a minute and half, Jak saw a hole in the side of a hill. It was just big enough for him to squeeze through, but he managed. After ten feet, the hallway widened and Jak found himself in a hollow roughly the size of his bedroom, maybe a bit bigger. Jak put Keira on the ground and got everything out of the pack. He quickly covered her body in clothes, the blanket and the sleeping bag. He started a fire with the matches and wood, letting the heat wash over him like he was sinking into a warm bath. He turned around to move Keira closer to the fire and saw a nasty bruise on her head. Wondering how he could miss such as an obvious wound, Jak quickly healed it with Green Eco. He ripped everything off her to make sure no other injuries were left unchecked. To his delight, the rest of body was unscathed.
Jak moved her closer to the fire and went back to the entrance. Jak located the Zoomer and dragged it back to the cave, as he didn't want Keira getting angry with him for leaving it outside in weather like this. He went back outside again and began piling snow up so as to block out the entrance. The reasons for this were numerous, two of the most prominent being he didn't want any unfriendly visitors entering, and he didn't want the heat from the fire exiting. Jak stopped piling snow when only about a foot remained, so the air could flow in and out so no one would suffocate.
Finally going inside, Jak turned his Red Eco off and took Daxter out of his backpack. Any fears he might have had about Daxter's health were destroyed when he felt Daxter's body was quite warm. Wanting to be sure, Jak took the blanket and wrapped Daxter up in it. Placing it as close to the fire as he dared, Jak turned his attention to Keira, who was starting to shiver violently. Jak had been hoping it wouldn't have had to come to this, but after seeing how her clothes were frozen solid, he decided he would have to get her out of them. Jak decided to put that off and instead got undressed. Taking his armor, backpack, straps, shirt, and pants off quickly, Jak got dressed in the clothes Samos had provided and could not help grinning lazily; the clothes were very warm and comfy.
Jak turned to Keira, his face blushing furiously. He unhooked the straps that were on her shoulders and slid them off. He then peeled the waterlogged tee shirt she had on and closed his eyes, not wanting to look at her uncovered. Jak looked away and got the sweat short out of the pile. He tried valiantly to get it on without looking at her, but it could not be done. Jak reluctantly looked over at her and even in this time, could not help but admire the beauty that she was. Her shoulders were bony, but had a bit of muscle on them; while her arms were strong yet thin, as many years of tinkering with machines had done that. Her stomach was flat and firm as he felt it, and her chest rose and fell with each breath. Jak tore his gaze away from the beautiful sight that was her body and hastily pulled the shirt over her torso in case she woke up. He then unbuttoned and unzipped her over-alls. As he pulled them off and laid them next to his clothes by the fire, Jak once again could not help but admire her body. Her legs were long, smooth, tan and muscular. He got behind her and pulled the sweat pants up, trying not to touch her bare skin, since there was a chance that it might wake her up. Jak smiled, but there was no trace of happiness, as he imagined what he would look like if Keira knew that he had seen her without clothes on. The mental image made him shudder.
Now that the worst was over, Jak unzipped the sleeping bag and put Keira inside it. He moved her close to the fire and zipped her up, hoping it would warm her up. He crouched and poked at the fire, warming himself as he watched Keira's body stop trembling over the course of an hour. Jak began to get drowsy, and he let out a yawn as Keira mumbled something in her sleep. Jak crawled over to her and put his ear right next to her mouth, so that he could feel her breath, but she did not speak again. Jak felt her face and was shocked to feel it was still ice cold. There was no other alternative; Jak would have to get in the sleeping bag with her and try to warm her up with his body.
Jak unzipped the sleeping bag once more and rolled Keira over so she was on her stomach. He got in behind her and slipped his arm underneath her body so he could pull her closer to him. With one hand he closed the bag, effectively pinning their bodies together. Keira shivered again and Jak pulled her body down until the top of her head was even with his chin. He pulled her even closer to him, wishing she could merge with him and they would never have to be separated. He hesitated, and then kissed the back of her head, wishing he had the courage to do it to her lips when she was awake. Jak inhaled her scent -strawberries and honey mixed- and immediately found himself asleep. His subconscious decided to play a familiar scene, but this time, it ended differently...
Jak, was staring away from Keira, opting instead to gaze out to sea. Keira walked up next to him and leaned on him. Jak looked down and smiled briefly at her, but it was a sad smile. Keira noticed and leaned up to his face. She looked into his eyes, in addition to the beautiful blue they possessed, they also looked troubled.
"You ok, Jak?" she asked gently. Jak nodded his head. "You want to talk about it?" she asked, knowing that he was lying. Jak shook his head and sighed sadly. "Is it Daxter? Do you feel responsible for what happened?" Jak nodded his head sheepishly. "Listen Jak; Daxter told me everything that happened. It's not your fault. If you hadn't thrown that bomb, the two of you might have been killed instead." Jak nodded his head and sat down, staring once more into the horizon. Keira sat down next to him, put her head on his shoulder and snuggled up next to him. She looked up at him, hoping that he would look back. He did, and instead of last time, it didn't feel awkward at all. It felt right to both of them. Jak stared into Keira's green eyes, taking in their beauty. Without even thinking about it, he leaned in closer to her face. Keira started leaning up as the distance between their lips quickly diminished. When their lips were less than an inch apart, they closed their eyes and Jak captured her lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body, not wanting this moment to ever end. She let out a soft moan as Jak's hand traveled up and down her spine, kneading the flesh wherever it felt tense. Jak let out a low moan to match hers when she dug her fingers in his hand and massaged his scalp. Off in the distance, Jak heard Daxter calling him, saying something about a minor and a slump-or wanting to talk to him...
Keira started stirring, her body still not fully recovered from the beating it had sustained the day before. She tried to move but two arms that were snaked across her stomach and waist pulled her into a hard flat surface. Keira craned her neck and saw Jak sleeping like a baby. She smiled softly as she wiggled again and he instinctively pulled her possessively back to him. She suppressed a giggle, not wanting to wake him up and truthfully wanting to go back to sleep. Keira began twisting around in an attempt to face Jak. When she did, she entwined her legs with his so they could get even closer and worked her arms around his body so she could feel his back through the shirt he had on. She then buried her nose in the crook of his neck and took in his scent. It was like a drug, and she quickly found herself dreaming a scenario that she did not know was very similar to Jak's.
Daxter stretched and woke up. The fire was out, but there were still coals remaining. He looked over and received a shock; Jak and Keira were facing each other in the same sleeping bag. And despite however innocent Jak appeared to be, Daxter had a nasty suspicion that they weren't fully dressed. Realizing this could be a golden opportunity to see the goods on Keira, he quietly unzipped the bag and was disappointed to see a completely covering sweatshirt and pants. Daxter pouted and considered waking his friends up but then thought, that in itself a very rare occurrence. He knew that Jak would never sleep with Keira, or that Keira would invite him to sleep with her. They were both too damned shy. He then noticed they were fully dressed, and he knew Keira had been knocked out yesterday. Jak must have changed her and then set her by the fire to warm her up. It probably wasn't enough, so he got in and stayed with her. Daxter grinned at the two of them (they really did make a cute couple) before curling back up.
Jak and Keira both woke up at the same time. They stared at each other for a second before realizing the other was awake. Jak blushed and attempted to free himself from the sleeping bag, while Keira did the same. Neither of them could free their arms and eventually the two of them rolled over so Keira was on top. She realized it was pointless to try and get out until Daxter woke up so she decided to have a little fun. She crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Jak, who smiled. The two of them had some fun making idiotic faces until, as always, they realized that Daxter was sleeping and they were very close to each other. Jak raised his head up as Keira lowered her lips, elated that she would finally kiss Jak.
"Oh, hey guys, you're up. Whaddya say we start out." Daxter said as he sat up. He had woken up a second ago to what he was sure was Keira giggling. When he looked over, he had just seen that the two of them had shifted positions, never imagining that he was ruining a moment. Keira seriously considered throttling the Ottsel, but found that her hands were in no position to do such a thing.
"Hey Daxter, me and Jak are stuck. Help us out, would ya?" She called over, not wanting to let on that Daxter had ruined yet another moment.
"Sure thing Keira," Daxter said. As he approached, Keira's anger vanished. She realized that Daxter hadn't been able to see the two of them and that he had no idea what he had done.
As Daxter unzipped the bag, the two of them unfolded their bodies and stretched. Keira started packing up as Jak put their spare clothes in his backpack. As he zipped it up, he noticed the map his uncle had given him. According to it, they weren't even a mile away from the town on this island, Flurry Conurbation.
Jak pointed this out to the others and they agreed to start off immediately. Jak hoisted the Zoomer onto his shoulders and turned his Red Eco Box on. The Zoomer went from being one hundred and fifty pounds of dead weight to what felt like twenty.
The three of them hiked to the town and saw it at the base of the biggest mountain on the entire island. They entered the hut that was separated from the rest of the village and saw to their dismay that Alecis was nowhere to be seen. There were numerous slash marks everywhere, which meant that Gol had certainly needed to put up a fight. What was more; they looked very recent, which meant that Gol might have not been there until last night, or yesterday morning at the earliest. All of them took that as a sign that they were moving faster and faster in relation to Gol's plans, and soon they might be able to catch up with him. Jak activated the Warp Gate, and Daxter laughed at Samos landing on his nose.
Samos let out a sigh as he looked around. "It appears we are too late. Gol has once again beaten us to the punch, or in this case, the sage."
"True, but these marks are recent, so we might be catching up with him. I think Jak should go around and see what information he can scrounge up from the rest of the town." Keira said, trying to cheer her old man up.
"Good idea Keira. While you do that, Jak, the two of us shall go through Alecis' notes to see what information we can gather."
"Hey log for brains, what about me?"
"You? You can put those books back up on the bookshelves." Jak quickly grabbed Daxter and walked out before Daxter found himself unconscious. Again. Jak would need someone that could speak when he went around town.
As they exited the hut, Jak and Daxter looked up at the mountain. It looked as if someone had built a rather large fort there. As they strolled into town, both of them noticed that there wasn't a soul around. Everyone was huddled up inside his or her houses. Jak would normally have attributed this to the cold, but with the way everyone kept glancing out the window every half a minute, Jak wagered they were scared of something. He rapped on the door of a house and a haggard looking woman cracked it open. Seeing it was a fellow elf, she smiled warmly and opened the door for him.
"Come in, come in. It's been so long since we've had visitors." She said. Jak smiled and entered the house, removing his boots as he did so.
"Who is it Carla?" a man's voice asked.
"A traveler Daniel. He looks like he's from Sandover." Jak's eyes widened in surprise: he didn't know anyone else knew about his town. The woman caught his gaze and laughed.
"Hey there. Yes, we know of Sandover. My grandfather came from there, but he decided to move here in favor of the cold weather. Pardon me for being rude, but what it that on your shoulder?" The man called Daniel asked.
"'The thing,' on his shoulder is Daxter. And he's an Ottsel. And he has sharp claws, so don't insult me," Daxter said as he glared at the man. Jak smacked him. "Sorry. I ain't used to this weather and I'm a bit touchy. Anyway, my friend's name is Jak."
"So, what brings you boys here?" Carla asked as she served them both a bowl of soup.
"Well, we were gonna come here to meet with the sage. But-"
"Alecis? You know where she is?" Daniel interrupted.
"Should I tell them?" Daxter whispered in Jak's ear, clearly not sure of it would be wise to inform the village their sage had been kidnapped and might be being forced to work on a machine that could destroy the world. Jak sighed and nodded; it was better to tell people the truth, no matter how much it hurt. It was better than blinding them. As Daxter explained the situation, the eyes of the family became wider with fear. When Daxter had finished, the family looked grim.
"Er, we're sorry this had to happen to you guys." Daxter added sheepishly. Jak nodded vigorously.
"Oh, its not your fault dears. But you are right; this is the last thing we needed since the Yeti began attacking. At first we had thought Alecis was planning a way to defeat it, but now..."
"Hold up. A Yeti? What's a Yeti? And why do I get the feeling its not gonna be somethin' we wanna tangle with."
"You are right." the father said, "A Yeti is something you want to avoid at all costs. It is monster Lurker, one that lives at the peak of Snowy Mountain. It is twenty feet tall, and can combine its body in with the ice around it, making it nearly impossible to see. It devours anything living that comes across it."
"Hang on. If it lives all the way up there" -Daxter pointed out the window to Snowy Mountain- "why do you care? And why doesn't the whole town attack him?"
"Because the mean old monster smashed the gwandala. Now we can't go up there and put him in time out," one of the children said. Jak smiled at the child; she thought if they put the monster in time out, then he would behave. Jak's experience with Lurkers had taught him the only ways to stop Lurkers were to either scare them off or kill them. If truth be told, Jak didn't particularly enjoy killing Lurkers. He either did it out of self-defense of protecting others. If the Lurkers left everyone alone and stopped attacking, Jak would be more than happy to allow them to keep living; he wouldn't go and hunt them all down.
"Honey, it's pronounced gon-do-la. The Yeti smashed the gondola that leads to Snowy Mountain. With no one here to rebuild it, it has remained out of order. Jak nodded and bowed his head, a symbol of thanks. The family smiled at him and was happy to point him in the direction of the gondola, though, as Daniel had said, it would not do him much good. Jak got close to the gondola and saw most of it was in prime condition: the only thing wrong with it was the fact that the part where the person sat down had been ripped off.
"Are they kidding? This should be easy to repair. All we would need is some wood, a few pegs and a hammer." Daxter exclaimed. Jak nodded his head and walked back to Alecis' hut.
"Well Jak, it appears that this town is having trouble with the Lurkers as well. According to his notes-"
"A Lurker Yeti is terrorizing these civilians. Yea, we know." Daxter cut Samos off. Samos looked surprised that Daxter had actually managed to beat him to the punch.
Before the situation worsened, Keira decided to change the subject. "Jak, the Zoomer took quite a beating. There's nothing seriously wrong with it, but it will still take me about four or five days to repair it."
"Wait a sec toots. If there's nothing seriously wrong with it then why is it gonna take so long?"
"Because while no one thing is damaged more than anything else, the entire Zoomer got beaten up."
"By the Precursors! Jak, we have to get to the Lurker's fort on Snowy Mountain! According to these notes, Alecis found a cache of Eco Sabers. But I haven't seen them anywhere, and if you look at these tracks outside the window, they are very much like Lurkers. I have no doubt that the Lurkers are now in possession of at least one hundred Eco Sabers."
"Dad, what are Eco Sabers?"
"Eco Sabers are a very powerful weapon. They are about six inches long, and inch around, and look cylindrical."
"So why are you worried then moss head?" Daxter asked.
"Because, fur-ball, they can extend to three feet, and the metal becomes so hot that it can slice through anything, even other Precursor metal." Jak, Keira, and Daxter gulped at the complication that could be launched at them if the Lurkers figured out how to use the Sabers.
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, but I guess I'll let Jak tag along and let him learn from the pro." Daxter said as he began to go out the door.
"Also, it appears that the Lurkers are up on Snowy Mountain for a reason. Apparently, they've discovered, and are now trying to remove, some Dark Eco stores frozen in the glaciers. While you're up there poking around for Power Cells, the Yeti and the Eco Sabers, stop those Lurkers and keep a little more Dark Eco out of Gol's hands!"
"Geez! How much do you want from us? Let's go Jak." Jak stayed as Daxter walked out of the hut. "Come on Jak, we gotta move." Jak shook his head. Daxter looked confused and then remembered the gondola was broken.
"Hey baby. You got any wood layin' around back in Sandover."
"Don't call me that Daxter. And yea, I think so. Why?"
"Cause we gotta rebuild the gondola. All right, let's go Jak." Jak listened the thirds time and hopped through the Warp Gate, landing back in Sandover. He quickly began to sweat and decided to build it back at Flurry Conurbation.
As Keira worked on the Zoomer, and Samos looked through Alecis' notes, Jak and Daxter spent two days rebuilding the gondola. As they went out on the third morning to attach the gondola to the winch, Keira stopped them after breakfast.
"Hang on Jak. Take these." Keira handed him four bottles. "Its all the Eco we could find in the hut, but it should be enough to recharge your Eco Boxes to full power." Jak smiled and gave her a hug before taking the bottles and taking the gondola up to Snowy Mountain. As it climbed higher, Jak noticed it began t creak. He and Daxter exchanged uneasy glances and pretended not to notice as the creaking got louder and the swaying got more extreme.
At last they reached he top of the mountain. "Here's the welcoming committee, Jak," Daxter said fearfully as roughly a dozen Lurkers rushed in to "greet" them. Jak prepared for battle and noticed that while these Lurkers were similar to Scouts in most respects, they were shorter, stockier, and a bluish-violet instead of dark purple. Jak counted as they got closer; there were actually fourteen. One threw a punch at Jak while the other thirteen surrounded him, cutting off escape. Jak smirked: escape. That was the last thing on his mind. Jak caught the punch with his right hand and smashed his forehead into the nose of the Lurker. As it reeled back in pain, Jak hooked his left arm under the elbow and pulled. The result was the Lurker fell back as it passed out from pain due to the fact its arm was now bent in the opposite direction.
"Hey Jak, I remember these things. Their called Emissaries." Jak glanced at Daxter even as he kneed a second Lurker and threw it at a third, sending both of them off the mountain. "They were in that book about Lurkers." Jak thought as he used his palm to drive the nose of another Lurker into its brain, killing it instantly. He remembered the book they had nicked from Samos. Jak winced at the whack he had received for the one.
The ten remaining Emissaries flexed their hands and their claws extended an inch or so. Jak grinned; if they wanted to play with their toys, then he would play with his. He flipped the switch on his Yellow Eco Box and formed his familiar Blade.
Three charged from different directions; one in front to the left, another in front to the right and the last one from behind. Jak sliced the hands off the one on the left before delivering a sidekick into the one on his right. He spun his blade impressively before stabbing behind himself and skewering the seventh one to attack him.
All the remaining seven Lurkers roared and charged Jak. He recalled his Eco Blade and smashed the face f an Emissary that had leapt into the air. Another one swiped at him and Jak performed a back flip, catching the hand of the Lurker with his feet as he did so. As he smashed the Lurker into the ground, Jak spun in a circle and made slashing motions with his hands. The thin scythe-like shots of Yellow Eco cut through the flesh of the five Emissaries, all of which fell to the ground.
Jak trudged through the snow and jumped over a gap. A slight crunch made him spin around just in time to leap into the air. A creature about six feet tall that looked as though it was living ice charged underneath him. Jak recalled the name of these creatures: Hoarfrosts, if he remembered Carla correctly. It roared again and flexed its muscles. Foot long spikes shot out and the Hoarfrost charged again. Jak stood calmly still as he sidestepped, letting the beast run right off the cliff. As it realized what was happening, the Hoarfrost spun around, almost as if it was trying to run on the air back to Jak and Daxter, the latter of which waved goodbye genially as the Hoarfrost fell to its death.
Jak continued on his way, pausing to examine his surroundings after a while. There was something in the air, some sound that he couldn't quite place. As it got louder, Jak turned around and saw a snowball arguably six feet in circumference heading for him. Jak rolled to the side as it went barreling past him. Jak decided to find the source of these snowballs: if he found the resource for them he might be able to stop them. Jak ran up the path where the miniature avalanches were originating from, dodging to the left and right as he needed to. Up ahead and to the right he saw a reddish fire springing from the ground. According to his goggles, it was a Red Eco Vent. Jak thanked the Precursors (and a certain female mechanic he was fond of) for these goggles. Keira had improved them even more; now he could see the world how it really was. That was a huge improvement, since Jak needed to keep his face covered at all times.
Jak rolled and leaped over another snowball that was coming from up high on the mountain and landed in the Red Eco Vent, letting his body heat increase and his strength grow. He spotted an Emissary rounding a corner and followed, curious to see where it had gone. As he peered around the corner, he saw three Emissaries, a Hopper (a six inch bright gray Lurker that had razor sharp claws), and a six-foot tall Lurker with a wooden shield. The latter was in a wooden machine that had four wheels and a spring-loaded hammer in the middle. Said hammer was pounding away at a wall of ice through which barrels with the biological hazard sign could be seen. Jak realized that this must be the machine that the Lurkers were using to try to get to the frozen stores of Eco.
Jak turned on his Blue Eco Box and rushed in. All three of the Emissaries were hurled off the cliff before they even knew what was happening. Jak stomped on the Hopper so it wouldn't bother him and heard the Lurker in the machine get off behind him. Jak spun around and saw that this type of Lurker was higher than the General: it was a Sergeant. It raised its left arm and shot a ball of fire at Jak, who ducked and retaliated with a Yellow Eco Beam. The Sergeant stupidly brought its shield up, thinking it would help block. A volleyball-sized hole in its chest would prove otherwise.
Jak stepped over the smoking corpse and pried a Power Cell out of the machine: his fiftieth one. Jak continued on his merry little way and turned a corner. Both he and an Emissary started with surprise, except Jak recovered first. Walking past the now unconscious body, Jak came to abridge covered in ice. He looked over the side and gathered it would be a long fall if he didn't make it across. Jak stepped carefully on the bridge and began sliding. He jumped over the foot gap and landed, sliding even faster. He barely jumped the second gap in time and fell forward as his feet hit snow and stopped sliding.
Jak noticed how his face hadn't hit anything and opened his eyes. He stared into the cavern beneath him and stood up. He looked around and saw he was standing on a very thin pillar. There was another pillar in front of him, so Jak jumped to it. It started to crack a little, so he hastily leapt to another one to his left. This pillar just crumbled as he landed on it with no pretense. Jak jumped high in the air and just barely managed to catch his gloved hand on a fourth pillar ahead and to his right.
Jak started sideling across the side of the mountain after jumping to it. As he saw a turn coming up Jak suddenly plummeted to the ground. He quickly recovered and flew back up, making a mental note to not do that again. As Jak began the turn in the mountain, a funny noise caught his attention. It was a combination of slamming and crunching, and it appeared to be coming from a large crack in the mountain. Jak slipped through the crack and saw a room with another machine guarded by four Hoppers and an Emissary. After snapping the Emissary's neck, Jak fired thin beams of Yellow Eco around the room and by so doing, ended the lives of the Hoppers fairly efficiently. Jak took another Power Cell out of the machine and stored it in the bag. Daxter gave him a high five and Jak debated whether to continue in this course or to go outside and climb the mountain. He looked at Daxter, who went into a long-winded explanation about why he wanted to walk on solid ground. Jak shrugged and went through a hallway in the tunnel.
Twenty uneventful minutes later, Jak was starting to get bored. The most exciting thing that had happened for a while was him crossing another bridge cover in ice. At last he emerged outside. Jak looked around for a way to go, but saw nothing except a ledge six feet above him. Jak jumped up and pulled himself up the ledge. Now that he was actually on it, Jak saw there were about a dozen more. Three minutes was all it took for him to clear the last one.
Jak heard a snort and noticed two Emissaries, three Hoppers and two Sergeants heading for him. Nearby was another machine. Jak levitated it and sent it hurtling at the Lurkers that were rushing him, stepping aside and calmly taking the Power Cell out of it as it passed him. He did not bother to watch it fall down the mountain, choosing instead to step on the only Hopper he had missed. Jak crossed yet another bridge but was not as lucky this time around and wound up having to fly to the other side after falling through the fourth gap in it.
Jak looked around at his surroundings. He was in a dip between two peaks, and there was a cave about thirty feel up on one of the walls. He prepared to jump but stopped as a fireball went whizzing by his head. He turned around and saw five Sergeants glaring at him, shields raised and fireballs in their hands. He smiled and rushed them, leaping in the air as the fireballs left the Sergeants' hands. He thought disdainfully how they had all fired at him at once, instead of firing separately. As he landed, Jak summoned an Eco Blade and sliced through three Sergeants. The other two stood on opposite ends and unleashed a torrent of flames. Jak glanced at each one before jumping high in the air. He looked down and saw each Sergeant get fried by the others' attack.
He turned his Blue Eco Box on as he descended and flew into the cave. Instead of walking, Jak decided to simply fly through it, as he was sick of all the traps that the Lurkers and nature seemed to love springing on him. At the end of the cave was a platform. Jak stood on it and it began to rise. With a feeling of trepidation, Jak noticed that it was wide enough so that something fairly big could travel on it comfortably.
As the elevator neared the top, Jak and Daxter's sensitive noses picked up the mingled scents of dirt, sweat, and, unmistakably, blood. As the elevator stopped, Jak walked down a hallway that ended in a chamber thirty feet tall and about fifty feet in diameter. The Yeti was in the center, and it looked exactly how Daniel had described it: twenty feet tall. What Daniel had failed to mention were the ten-foot long arms, the foot long claws and fangs, and the fact that it was bulging with muscles.
It stared at Jak with milk white eyes and Jak felt this fight would be easy, seeing as how the Yeti was blind. As he ran at it, the Yeti calmly smacked him aside and into the wall. Jak considered retracting the assumption he had made as his body hit the wall. He let out a gasp of pain as the Yeti charged into his body and cracked a few ribs. He suddenly felt stronger and realized that the Yeti had accidentally flipped his Red Eco Box on.
Jak punched the creature in the face and then kicked it in the throat as he fell. Jak landed on he ground and healed his ribs while the Yeti staggered back and gasped for air. Jak assumed it was distracted and turned his Blue Eco Box on and charged, leaping in the air as he did so. As he made to punch the monster again, the Yeti clapped his hands together, catching Jak in the center like an insect.
Jak dropped to the ground and immediately rolled to the left to avoid a size 397 wide foot from landing on him, healing his body again as he did so. He rolled forward and landed on his feet, turning his Blue Eco Box on as the Yeti looked around for him. Jak crouched down and unleashed an uppercut across the Lurker's mouth, knocking a few teeth out as he landed on the top of its head. Jak turned off his Blue Eco Box and summoned his two Eco Blades. He held them upside down and brought his arms up, planning to shove them through the top of the Yeti's head and end the fight. Before he could, however, the Yeti jumped in the air and Jak was forced to abandon his plan and roll off to avoid become two-dimensional. He made sure to stick a blade in the arm of the Lurker as he fell. The Yeti let out a roar of pain and spoke, yet in a dialogue that Jak had never heard before.
"Kxuk xihk! Sasquatch nacc nad udt rosemo kxo Dark Sage'j don vulehako adjkout ev Klaww veh baccadw jkifat Channeler udt xaj jacco kucbadw huk!" (That hurt! Sasquatch will win and become the Dark Sage's new favorite instead of Klaww for killing stupid Channeler and his silly talking rat!)
Jak and Daxter shared looks of bewilderment as they wondered exactly what that meant. Daxter glanced at the Yeti and did a double take. He pointed at it and screamed for Jak to move. Jak looked and rolled forward just in time to avoid being transformed into Swiss Cheese. Ten black foot-long claws lay imbedded in the ground behind him. The Yeti pointed his fingertips at Jak and the claws at the end launched at Jak before instantly regenerating and launching again. Jak quickly fired blasts of Yellow Eco that cancelled the claws out. After firing twenty times he realized he would run out of Eco before the Yeti ran out of claws and decided to try something different.
Jak ran at the and formed two fists, leaving only his pointer and middle fingers extended. He Channeled Yellow Eco into them and brought each hand up to the opposite shoulder. Letting his arms fly out, an X-shaped blast cut through the claws that had been sent at him and sliced the Yeti in the chest, leaving a laceration about an inch deep to show for it.
Jak smiled as a screech tore its way from his adversary's throat. He leaped up when a blast of icy wind came out, but was not quite fast enough. As Jak landed he Channeled Red Eco into his body and felt the block of ice that encased his left shin melt away. Jak smirked at the stunned look on the Yeti's face and focused Red Eco into his hands.
He charged at the Yeti and was pleased that it did not react fast enough to prevent his next attack, something that Jak would make sure it paid dearly for. He leaped up and kneed the Yeti in the chest. As it gasped for breath, Jak started punching rapidly, his fists moving so fast that a spectator would not be able to discern one hand from the other.
As the Yeti was pushed back, Jak continued his relentless assault upon its chest. When the Yeti hit the wall, Jak used the last bit of Eco he had left to kick off from it, summoning an Eco Blade as he did so. The blade did not form completely however, because the Yeti had caught Jak's leg and pulled him back, taking care to smash Jak's head into the wall. Dazed, Jak dimly registered he was flying through the air before he smashed against another wall. Jak quickly healed his body and looked up for the Yeti.
Jak looked left, right, above him, but no matter where he looked, the Yeti was nowhere in sight. Ignoring Daxter boasting about how he had chased the Yeti away, Jak tried to get a sense of where it was. He knew this fight was far from over.
Jak was suddenly picked up and had his body squeezed. As he grunted against the invisible force he was hurled across the room. Jak picked himself up, only to be knocked back down and stepped on.
"Nxuk'j kxo mukkoh reo? Sud'k oei joo mo?" (What's the matter boy? Can't you see me?) A taunting voice resounded. Jak shot a blast at the source, but it collided only with the wall. Jak wracked his memory to try to figure out what was going on and then remembered that Daniel had said that the Yeti had the power to move through snow. Jak flipped his goggles down and put them into infrared mode. He saw a red mass heading for him and fired the last blast of Yellow Eco he had, dumping everything into one attack.
A roar confirmed the hit and Jak pulled his goggles off to see that Yeti against the wall with a hole in it's chest. Knowing he had only a few seconds of Eco left, Jak quickly levitated the ten claws he had not destroyed and sent them at the Yeti, piercing him with two claws in each of his limbs, once in his chest, and the last one in his head.
Jak wearily healed himself and decided he would have to be more careful: he was now completely drained of Eco.
"Oh yea! We rock! That's right!" Daxter joyously exclaimed. Jak grinned, but then fell to the ground unconscious. Daxter looked at Jak curiously before meeting a similar fate.
Two Lurkers materialized from thin air. One grabbed the unconscious Channeler and the other snatched the curious rat. Groaning, Jak opened his eyes to get a good look at his captors. "Chameleons..." was his last coherent thought before a foot smashed his face and knocked him out again.
Meanwhile, three Sergeants fell to the ground as a mysterious figure made his way to the Lurker Fort, his body healing the injuries it had received as he walked...
Sorry it took me so long. Went to the Jets-Dolphins game Sunday, so I didn't type anything then. Hope you enjoyed it, and that I didn't manage to mentally scar anyone. As always, leave all comments and complaints at the Review Desk and I will look them over.