Red Mage 04- Daxter always does what he does best, that's a fact. Whether or not what he is best at is anything to be proud of is a different story. I'm glad you liked the battle, but it pales in comparison to the final showdown. I thought the image of Keira beating up one of the most powerful beings of all time would make you laugh. Imagine he beating Kage over the head with a saucepan. Now that's funny. As to who saves them, its not Keira, but and old friend.
animedragongirl- Yay! I got the paragraph thingies down. I am actually confident I didn't make any mistakes, I proofread and spell-checked and grammar-checked. And proofread. Anyway, all hail you, the one who has taught me more than any English teacher.
Lauren- It's rude to stare. It's not rude to gawk, so do that instead. I did not block you on AIM. My power source on my computer died, so I'm using the one my mom has. I decided to hell with the bodyguards, I'm going to inject myself with L Eco so I can make a shield. As for them kissing, don't hold your breath for it, but I did put in a little tidbit for you at the end, so enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own this. Copies of all three Jak games yes, but not the series itself. I can dream that I do though.
A New... Friend?
"Oh man. 'Did anyone catch the herd of Yakow that just trampled me?" Jak thought as he woke up. His left ear itched and he moved his right hand to get it. Or at least tried to. Jak looked to his right and saw his wrist bound to the wall by a metal ring. His other limbs were restrained in the same way. What was more, he felt freezing and noticed that his sweat clothes, his shirt, and Eco belt had all been striped off, leaving Jak in only his pants. As Jak struggled to break his bonds, a clamor of voices ahead of caught his attention and he looked up to see three Emissaries debating about something.
"Of course! I'm in the Lurker Fort! Those Chameleons must have snuck up behind me and knocked me out." Jak stopped moving, not wanting to draw attention to him, as he strained his ears to try to hear what the Lurkers were saying. Unfortunately, as with the Yeti, he couldn't make a word out.
"A juo no bacc xam hawxk den." (I say we kill him right now.) An Emissary growled as it gestured to Jak.
"No sud'k. No xuvo eih ehtohj vhem kxo tomed xohjocv. Xo'j evv-camakj. Homomroh jxo juad jxo neict bacc udoedo nxe khaot ke xihk xam?" (We can't. We have our orders from the demon herself. He's off-limits. Remember she said she would kill anyone who tried to hurt him?). A second snarled.
"Oou. A ted'k bden ureik oei, rik fohjeducco, A kxadb jxo neict zijk celo ke bacc oloho jadwco edo ev ij." (Yea. I don't know about you, but personally, I think she would just love to kill every single one of us.) The third one said in a low rumble.
"A ted'k suh! Zijk homomroh, A wok vahjk tarj ed xam!" (I don't care! Just remember, I get first dibs on him!) The first one roared. The other two stepped back; they had never seen their partner like this. The cell door opened and all three of them walked in. Two of them appeared quite calm, but the third one seemed to be restraining itself with extreme difficulty. Jak thought he saw something in its eyes snap an instant before it drew a hidden dagger and ran at Jak screaming "Tao oei rujkuht!" (Die you bastard!)
Jak closed his eyes and prepared his body for the penetration. When it didn't come, he opened his eyes. The Emissary was nowhere in sight, but a sickening smell of burnt flesh and hair was coming from somewhere. Jak saw smoke starting to rise from the floor and looked down to see the Emissary on the ground, dead.
"Kxuk adaek. A kect xam dek ke keisx kxo Channeler." (That idiot. I told him not to touch the Channeler.) A low husky voice said. Jak looked up and saw the demon that he had fought twice already flexing its hand, purple lightning dancing between the five-inch long claws. It glared at the two remaining Emissaries. "A xefo kxuk oei kne nacc jxen meho jocv sedchec kxud xo tat. Uvkoh ucc, kxo Dark Lord aj dek uj vehwaladw A um." (I hope that you two will show more self control than he did. After all, the Dark Lord is not as forgiving as I am.) It snarled. The other two looked very frightened and hastily stepped away from Jak, not wanting to be anywhere near him for fear of getting deep-fried.
The demon walked up to Jak and looked at him. Jak glared at it defiantly, determined not to give it the satisfaction of how disgusted he was that the demon had just killed a member of its clan. "Well, well. We are the defiant one aren't we? Just wait," it sneered. "By the time I'm through with you, you'll wish you had never been born. But in the meantime, you look a little flushed. Why don't I let some air in?" The demon smirked sadistically as it stuck a fingernail through the wooden wall. It carved a hole in the wall and kicked the piece out, leaving a decent hole in the wall, through which snow and wind poured in, chilling Jak right down to the bone.
Jak hung for a while, trying to keep warm. Not helping was the fact that the two remaining Emissaries had lit a fire -being careful to do so in Jak's point of view- and were huddling around it, gloating. Jak growled at them and struggled to get out of his bonds, actions that only wore him out and provided the Emissaries with what they considered entertainment.
"Don't bother Jak," a voice that he was too familiar said. Jak looked to his left and saw Daxter sitting in a chair, bound by rope. Quite a lot of it was on the floor already. Jak smirked even in his weakened state at how Samos had always told Daxter to put his mouth to good use. It seemed that was exactly what Daxter had did. "Those things are metal. You wouldn't have a chance at breaking them, even Eco wouldn't give you much of an edge." Jak knew Daxter was right and just glowered, not at his friend, but at the current situation.
Suddenly, alarms started blaring. "Adkhitoh Ucaht!" (Intruder Alert!) The two Emissaries said to each other as they ran out of the room.
"Finally." Daxter wiggled a bit and the ropes around him fell to the ground. The rodent squeezed through the bars of his cell and climbed up the wall by sinking his claws into the wood. He grabbed a ring of keys in his mouth and slithered up the bars of Jak's cage like a snake. After unlocking Jak's door, Daxter started sifting through the keys to find the ones for the metal rings that were restraining Jak. Jak's vision dimmed as the cold began to get to him. When Daxter got him off, Jak crumpled to the ground, his lips blue and his body shaking uncontrollably. Summoning will he did not know he possessed, Jak stood up and walked out the door.
As Jak put his clothes on, he felt whatever unusual properties they had go immediately to work on restoring heat to his frozen and stiff body. He collapsed again and struggled to keep awake as he regained the feeling in his limbs. After five minutes of deep breathing, Jak stood up and reattached all his armor. Now that he was fully aware of his surroundings, Jak noticed that a commotion seemed to be getting closer. Jak debated with the notations that either Keira and Samos had come to rescue him, which was very unlikely considering they didn't know he had been captured, or something very unpleasant knew where he was and was going to try to kill him.
"Hey Jak, let's just get outta here. We'll get out the hole the demon carved in the wall. Idiot." Jak smiled at Daxter and bent down so Daxter could climb up his arm. He peered out the wall and was met with a sight he did not want to see: a hundred-foot drop into the ocean. Whatever powers his clothes provided, Jak seriously doubted they would keep him warm in water colder than ice. He also had a sneaking suspicion that the clothes would just weigh him down and cause him to drown.
"Uh, yea, let's not do that," Daxter said nervously.
Jak looked at Daxter as if to say, "now what?"
"Uh, Plan B? We could fly Jak." Jak nodded and flipped on his Blue Eco Box. Or at least he put his hand to where the switch for his Blue Eco Box should have been. Jak looked down at his waist and saw that his Eco Box Belt was missing. Jak groaned as he realized the Lurkers had probably confiscated it and were going to use it against him.
Shouts behind the door drew his attention.
"Oei wioj touc nakx kxuk. A'cc biof ud ooo ed kxo jsimruw!" (You guys deal with that. I'll keep an eye on the scumbag!) A deep voice cried.
Jak and Daxter shared a nervous glance as they saw the door open. A single Lurker walked in, but somehow it felt familiar. It was five and a half feet tall, muscular, and covered in the same purple hair as the Scouts. It had a brown lion-cloth on and was wearing metal forearm armor much like Jak's. Jak assumed a combat stance and prepared to battle this Lurker with no powers. Adding to his anxiety were the eyes of the Lurker: they seemed to blaze with intelligence rather than the mindless blood lust like most of them. He growled and rushed in.
"Stop!" The Lurker said in a firm voice as it held its right hand out. Jak was so surprised at hearing a Lurker speak Elfish that he did just that. "Relax, I mean you no harm." Jak snorted in disbelief, however innocent he was, he wasn't fool enough to believe a Lurker.
"Since when do you freaks speak Elfish?" Daxter called at it.
"Since when do orange rats talk?" The Lurker retorted. "Listen, we have only three minutes, so we must be brief. I have come back to help you Jak." At Jak's disbelieving look, he chuckled. "Yes, we have met before. I am no longer full of rage at the world. My eyes were open to the truth of what I was getting into very recently. As a matter of fact it was right after you defeated me." Jak still had a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"Very well. Do you recall the incident on the dirigible a couple of weeks ago? In order to hit your switch you had to defeat a single Lurker that seemed to regenerate anything you threw at him." A flicker of recognition flashed through Jak's eyes and the Lurker smiled. "Yes that was I. You sent me flying off the ship and ripped all my limbs off. Not to mention punching a hole in my chest the size of a volleyball with that beam you sent at me." Jak's eyes widened as he recalled that day...
Jak charged at the Lurker and Channeled Blue Eco to increase his speed. He rammed the Lurker in the gut and forced it through the wall. As it fell, Jak Channeled Red Eco and put his fists together. He slammed his hands into the Lurker's skull and sent it plummeting to the ground. Jak then sent the rest of his Yellow Eco at to ensure that it was blasted into pieces. To ensure that the Lurker would die, Jak used his Blue Eco to increase the speed at which the Lurker fell.
"Yes I survived. My name is Wartstal and right after out little 'encounter,' my eyes were opened to the true nature of our leader. Let me tell you what happened."
The Lurker that had just gotten the crap royally beaten out of him groaned. A splatter of dark blood hit the ground as he coughed. Feeling his limbs grow back slowly, the Lurker began to crawl, but stopped at the sound of his boss.
"You idiot. I rescued you from death, and this is how you repay me?" Gol shrieked at his apprentice.
"I am sorry my master." The demon said as it crouched and sank into a very low bow.
"Not as sorry as you will be soon," Gol hissed. He extended his hands and purple lightning flew from them, coursing over the body of the demon. He watched without mercy or pity as his apprentice writhed on the ground, shrieking in pain. If anything, he intensified his attack, grinning manically as the skin started to peel off his tyro. He paused for an instant and then shot a solid beam of Dark Eco, punching a hole through the stomach of the smoking life form beneath him.
"There. Perhaps that will give you motivation the next time you engage Jak." Gol snarled. The Lurker's eyes widened as he realized that he could be next if Gol ever learned of his stunning failure.
(Three days later) The Lurker followed the elf referred Jak and the female to a lake. He watched the have fun and he realized that the company of elves treated each other with equality and respect rather than the fear and hatred associated with his ruler. Wartstal wondered whether or not he might persuade the band of elves to allow him to join with them...
"And that's what happened." Wartstal finished.
"I don't like this Jak. Do you think this guy's for real?" Daxter asked. As a response, Jak walked up to Wartstal and stared him right in the eyes. As hard as he tried, Jak could detect no falsehood within the Lurker's gaze. Slowly, Jak nodded.
"Good, because we are wasting time here standing around. Now, I have a plan that might just work. The guards told me that they would check in in three minutes. I think we have roughly one left. This is the plan. When they walk in, Jak, you must take your clothes back off and get back on the wall. I will close your locks until they look closed, but I shall leave them open. You will need to appear unconscious. Rat, I need you-"
"Daxter."
"Pardon me?"
"My name is Daxter."
"My sincerest apologies. Daxter, you will need to hang from the ceiling. When they walk underneath you, I need you to drop down and distract them. That will give me and Jak the time we need to dispose of them."
"Don't you feel bad for killing your own kind?" Daxter asked in disbelief. Wartstal smiled bitterly.
"I am no longer a Lurker from the instant that I decided that you did not have to die." Jak put his hand on the Lurker's shoulder and smiled sympathetically. Wartstal smiled back. Everyone quickly got into his or her positions. No sooner did Wartstal prop a rock against Jak's cell door so it looked closed did two Sergeants walked in.
"Hofihj!" (Report!)
"Kxo Channeler'j ideidjsaeij." (The Channeler's unconscious.)
"Nxuho'j kxo huk?" (Where's the rat?) One of them asked, pointing to the chair where Daxter used to be sitting.
"Nxuk huk?" (What rat?) Wartstal asked, feigning confusion.
"Kxo edo kxuk nuj ad kxuk sxuah!" (The one that was in that chair!) Both of the Sergeants roared in unison.
"A, A ted'k bden." (I, I don't know.) Wartstal said uncertainly. The two Sergeants inspected the corners of the room and eventually made their way near the hole in the wall. Wartstal ran at them and delivered two swift kicks to their backs. He watched as they fell into the ocean and then he turned around and saw Jak dressed already.
"Well, that was easier than expected. Now we must make it down Snowy Mountain. It will be difficult, but once we get to Flurry Conurbation, the rest of the Lurkers won't have enough courage to take the town on without their Yeti to lead them." Jak shook his head and pointed at his belt. Then he made slashing motions with his hands as if he was holding a sword. Wartstal raised an eyebrow questioningly. Daxter rolled his eyes at what he considered Wartstal's stupidity.
"First we gotta get our boy here his Eco Belt back so he can dish out some ass-bruisin'. And we gotta get the Eco Sabers that you guys took from Alecis' house."
"Eco Saber's hmm? I don't know anything about those, I'm not a high enough ranking officer for me to know things like that. But the Eco Boxes. Gol wasn't stupid enough to think that you wouldn't try to escape. He separated the boxes and positioned a guard over each one. If we split up we should be able to find all of them faster. I'll give you a map of the fortress so you can find your way around." Wartstal drew a map in the snow on the floor and pointed out the boxes. Jak pointed to the Blue and Yellow Boxes, since he had enhanced powers in those categories.
"All right. We each get two Boxes and then meet back here," he said, pointing at a point near an armory. "But once the Lurkers discover that I'm helping you, it will be a battle to recover the Eco Sabers. Not to mention getting off this mountain." Jak nodded and grabbed Daxter. The three of them snuck out of the room, heading off in separate directions.
"Do you really think we can trust him?" Daxter whispered as Jak kicked a ventilation shaft in. Jak nodded as he crawled in and replaced the covering behind him. "Well, okay. But I don't trust him just yet." Jak rolled his eyes at his diminutive friend.
"C'mon Jak, don't you think that his story sounded urf-" Jak quickly silenced his companion as some Emissaries walked underneath the section that Jak was hiding in. He threw his friend a sharp look that clearly said be quiet. Daxter nodded slowly and Jak removed his hand. He cautiously emerged from the tunnel and looked around. He appeared to be quite alone in this room, which was fairly big. Boxes with a giant red label on them were stacked everywhere, making Jak suspect that they had something to do with Dark Eco. Pausing to look at a map that showed the location of the Yellow Eco Box, Jak slapped himself; he had somehow managed to go in the opposite direction that he needed.
"Oh perfect. If you can't even keep your bearings in a ventilation shaft, I can only imagine how screwed up we're going to get when we go through Spider Caves." Jak ignored this jibe from Daxter, but a small part of him personally agreed. Daxter saw the momentary flicker of sorrow and regret in Jak's eyes and immediately started to try to cheer Jak up. "Sorry about that Jak. C'mon, remember that time you found a way out of that cavern that I fell into on your ninth birthday?" Jak nodded as he remembered how Daxter had screamed like a little girl at the sight of a scorpion. Daxter guessed at what Jak was thinking.
"Hey, think what you want buddy, but I was, uh, practicing my opera singing that day. Didn't you catch the performance?" Jak glared at Daxter, who remembered the incident with the Wump-Bee's Nest that had followed shortly after Jak had saved Daxter. "Sorry about that. I forgot about the whole thing."
"Yea right. Trust me Daxter, you wouldn't have forgotten if it was you who fell into that nest and gotten hives the size of Wumpa fruit all over your body." Jak thought as he opened a door and dashed through the hallway. Nothing happened as Jak made his way quietly through the Fort. Jak wasn't if he should be happy or worried about this. On the one hand, the lack of traps was definitely something to be happy about, but he also wondered if maybe the Lurkers didn't have some other kind of plan and were just luring him into a false sense of security.
After ten minutes of sneaking around, Jak came to a different type of door. It had a small metal pad next to it with nine buttons. Jak pulled on the handle of the door, but it wouldn't open.
"Fcoujo odkoh josihako fujjneht." (Please enter security password.) A rough voice said from the other side of the door.
"Huh?" Daxter asked before Jak could keep him quiet. The door burst open and Jak ducked to avoid a blast of fire as a Sergeant advanced on him, his shield in one hand and his fireball gun in the other. As the Sergeant took aim, Jak leaped into the air and contorted his body to avoid another blast. He seized the gun in the Sergeant's hand and crushed it. Both Red and Yellow Eco spilled out and wrapped around Jak's body.
Jak grabbed his head as almost unbearable waves of pain washed over his body. Beams of Yellow Eco shot off in random directions as Jak struggled not to lose himself to the pain. He knew that falling asleep would only mean recapture and torture at the hands of the demon. One of the beams shot clear through the Sergeant's skull, effectively killing it. Jak's legs gave out as the beams started to get weaker. Red Eco made his body glow with a crimson aura, an aura that gave off such an enormous amount of heat that the floor began to burn away to ash and the ceiling turned black. At last, after an eternity, the pain began to subside. Jak shakily got to his feet and wondered what that had been about. Then he remembered Samos' words of wisdom from long ago.
"Jak, you must never attempt to Channel more than one type of Eco at a time. The strain it would put on your body might prove to be too much."
"No kidding," Jak thought to himself. "If less than an Orb's amount of Eco did that, I don't wanna think about what would happen if two of my Eco Boxes were turned on at the same time."
"Jak? Are you okay?" Daxter's concerned voice cut through Jak's thoughts and he looked down at his friend. He nodded and Daxter scurried up Jak's legs and torso before coming to rest on his shoulder. Jak gave his friend a reassuring wink before he went through the door that the Sergeant had been guarding. An Emissary walked by the hallway Jak was in without so much as glancing down it. Jak quietly followed it to a door with another red warning sign on it. Jak snapped the Emissary's neck and grabbed a knife that was around its waist. Jak strapped it to his own and peered through a window. He saw a new Lurker type with a small yellow jewel embedded in its chest. Feeling that the element of surprise might be an element that would tip the odds in his favor, Jak simply kicked the door down.
The Lurker reacted instantly and it fired a beam of Yellow Eco right at Jak. He was so overcome with surprise at seeing a Lurker use an Eco-based attack that he forgot about the forearm armor he had. He ducked and turned around to see the blast stop in midair. Jak rolled to the side as the blast shot back at him and a black spot on the floor marked the spot where he had been just a second ago. Jak looked back at his foe just in time to see it fire another beam at him. Jak vaulted into the air and aimed a kick at the Lurker's chest. The Lurker back-flipped and Jak's foot sank through the wood, leaving him trapped.
Another beam went flying at Jak, who raised his armor this time. The Yellow Eco rebounded off the metal and went right back at the source. The Lurker simply stuck its hand out and the beam turned into a ball about a foot away from its body. As it went back to Jak, the strangest idea occurred to him; the Lurker could not only use Yellow Eco, it could also manipulate the blast that it sent at him.
As Jak dodged another blast, he saw the jewel in the Lurker's chest glow brighter. Jak quickly deducted that the jewel in the Lurker's trunk was the source of its power. Jak wondered whether or not he might be able to gain some power from it if he touched the jewel. Quickly using a combination of jumping, twirling and rolling to get close to his opponent, Jak placed his right hand on the jewel and was surprised to feel it was cold and metal. His eyes widened as he realized that the jewel was in fact his Yellow Eco Box, and that it had been surgically implanted into the chest of the Lurker.
With a roar, the Lurker formed an Eco Blade of its own and the Yellow Eco Box in its chest became dull as the last of its power was siphoned away. The Lurker ripped it out of his chest and charged Jak, who responded eagerly. As the Lurker swung its sword down, Jak came up to block it. The Lurker altered its course slightly so that Jak was forced to bring up his forearm armor in time to prevent Daxter from getting an unscheduled haircut. Jak brushed Daxter off his shoulder so no harm would come to him as he once again blocked another vertical slash.
Daxter watched from a corner of the room as the two engaged in swordsmanship, trying to find the attack that would be the end of their enemy. The Lurker blocked a jumping slash from Jak and split his sword into two golden spheres. He sent two beams of Yellow Eco at Jak, who ducked under them and rushed in. He swung his sword so fast that it appeared little more then a scythe, but the Lurker still managed to dodge it.
Jak spun around as the Lurker did a front-flip over his body. As it landed, the Lurker stuck its arms out and the two beams that he had sent at Jak curved around and became spheres in his hands once more. Re-forming its Eco Blade, the monster charged Jak once again. Jak ducked, dodged and parried all of the oncoming attacks, but a small piece of his mind set aside that particular technique the Lurker had just shown him.
Jak struck aggressively at his opponent, his sword coming in from the right on level with the Lurker's throat. The monster's blade leapt up to intercept his strike and swatted it away. Deciding to go with that momentum, the Channeler spun around; copying a move he had done against Kazan. With blinding speed, he completed his rotation, coming in with a relatively low angle of attack, intending to cut his adversary's feet out from underneath him. Unfortunately, his sword connected with little more than air, as the Lurker had back flipped out of the way.
Jak waited patiently as the Lurker landed and skidded backwards before rushing back to try its hand at the offensive. Jak noticed that while the Lurker's strength was great, its speed was not enhanced beyond that of an elf's, which was a weakness Jak intended to take full advantage of.
The Lurker roared in frustration as a downward chop that would have split Jak in half (had it connected) was intercepted. Jak forced his adversary's blade down and away to the left, before bringing his right foot up and smashing it into the Lurker's face. The Lurker staggered backwards, his nose broken, black blood dripping down his face. As Jak rushed in to take advantage of this, he went into a flurry of attacks, his blade a blur as it hacked, struck, and thrust. From the corner where he was hiding, Daxter cheered as he watched his friend's momentum become nearly unstoppable.
The Lurker growled in frustration as Jak's combos nearly shattered its defenses. It found itself desperately blocking and evading, unable to get a strategy going beyond trying to keep all of its limbs attached to its body.
But eventually Jak scored a hit, his sword slipping through the Lurker's raised blade to draw a line of blood from its left side all the way up to his right collar bone as the Lurker tried to leap back to avoid the stroke. Still, even as it hissed in pain, the Lurker considered itself lucky; the damage was not nearly as bad as it could have been had the blow hit home completely.
Snarling once again, it leaped at his opponent, bringing his Eco Blade down from above with all its strength. Jak once again called upon a technique from his battle with Kazan. This performance, however, was one that Kazan had used against him. Jak gripped his sword with two hands, one on the end of the grip, the other upon the end of the blade itself, and held it horizontally, and succeeded in not only blocking the Lurker's strike, but threw it back into the air, where it came in for a rather uncoordinated landing nearly ten feet away.
Immediately, the Lurker rolled backwards, and jumped back up to his feet, and was scarcely able to avoid being skewered, as Jak had planted his blade in the ground where the Lurker had been mere moments before. Even so, the Lurker's split second distraction as he gained his balance enabled his opponent to get behind him. Realizing the severity of the situation too late to correct it, the vile beast felt its feet be knocked out from underneath him by the use of a sweep kick.
As the Lurker began another trip to the ground, Jak finished spinning around, and came up to slam his kneecap into the Lurker's back hard enough for the bone to shutter from the impact. The blow also succeeded in driving the breath from his lungs. The Lurker's breathing situation did not improve at all when he hit the stone floor, nor did what follow help at all either. For, as his back had been dealt that powerful blow, the Lurker had lost its grip upon its Eco Blade, and Jak had quickly grabbed it before it dissipated into thin air. Jak poised over it for one eternal moment, before plunging both blades down into his gut. Jak viciously sliced upwards with one blade at the same time he cut downwards with the other sword.
After slicing his opponent in half, Jak went over to the Yellow Eco Box and thrust both swords into it. The Box absorbed the power, just as Jak had predicted it would, and Daxter came out of the corner where he had been directing the whole scene. Jak found a metal clip on a table nearby and fastened one end to his waist and the other half to the Yellow Eco Box, seeing as how his belt was no more.
Wartstal casually strolled through the hallways, nodding and saluting every Lurker he came across. He knew he had to act perfectly nonchalantly as he made his way towards the chamber where the Red Eco Box was. Wondering what Gol could possibly want it for, Wartstal walked in. He gulped nervously as a Lurker Scorpion hissed at his entrance.
"Nxuk uho oei teadw ad xoho?" (What are you doing in here?) The Scorpion hissed.
"A nuj jodk ke hokhiolo kxo Hot Eco Rep no sedvajsukot vhem kxo jsimruw Channeler." (I was sent to retrieve the Red Eco Box we confiscated from the scumbag Channeler.) Wartstal responded smoothly. The reaction that he got was one that displeased him greatly.
"Oei opfosk mo ko rocaolo kxuk? Ak nuj jihwasucco amfcudkot ad mo reto idkac kxo Dark Lord semoj ke scuamo ak. Fohjeducco. A bdon oei noho nohbadw nakx kxo Channeler Wartstal, udt den ak aj kamo veh ke tao!" (You expect me to believe that? It was surgically implanted inside my body until the Dark Lord comes to claim it. Personally. I knew you were working with the Channeler Wartstal, and now it is time for you to die!) The Scorpion said, its voice rising with every word as it rushed towards him.
"No jxucc joo ureik kxuk!" (We shall see about that!) Wartstal retaliated as he assumed a fighting stance.
"No jxucc adtoot." (We shall indeed.)
The Scorpion brought its tail down with enough force to embed it in the floor. Wartstal leaped up and ran up the stinger. As the Scorpion freed the end of its tail, Wartstal grabbed the lethal endpoint and jumped to the ground behind the Scorpion. Roaring, Wartstal flipped the Scorpion over his shoulder by the tail and slammed it onto the ground. The fight was far from over, however, as a casual flick sent Wartstal flying backwards and landing implanted in the wall.
Ignoring the pain, knowing he would heal, Wartstal dashed forward with a deceptive amount of speed and jumped up to avoid the tail again. He smirked and landed on the back of the Scorpion, trying to shatter its exoskeleton. His efforts were futile, as a claw reached behind the Scorpion's limited view and sliced one of Wartstal's arms off. He howled with pain as a new limb grew, and he hastily took the armor of his old arm and refitted it onto his new one.
Wartstal picked up the now useless appendage on the floor and squeezed it at the part where it had been connected to his shoulder. Black blood spurted out directly into the Scorpion's eyes. As the creature wailed in pain, Wartstal took advantage of its temporary blindness and rushed forward.
Two well places slashes gouged the Scorpion's eyes right out, and a few more separated the Scorpion's head from the rest of its body. As blood oozed out of the giant hole in its neck, Wartstal stuck his arm into the body of his now dead adversary. After feeling around for a few minutes, Wartstal retracted his arm with a triumphant grin. In his right hand was the fruit of his victory: the Red Eco Box. Wartstal stored it in a pouch he had around his waist and washed his hands off in a sink. The last thing he needed was to be blamed for the Red Eco Box's guardian's death.
"A veidt kxo Channeler!" (I found the Channeler!) Jak and Daxter whirled around as a Lurker Emissary stood in the doorway. "Xo'j ad" (He's in-) The Emissary's rant was cut short, due to the fact that Jak had throw the knife he had taken off the Lurker before and the blade was now sticking out of the Lurker's throat.
"C'mon Jak, we still gotta find your Blue Box and the Eco Sabers." Jak nodded and he took off through the hallway. He paused at the sound of voices around the corner and summoned an Eco Blade. Jak barrel-rolled around the corner and cut the feet out from three Emissaries that had not reacted fast enough. Jak swept a Sergeant off his feet as he pivoted around and when he rose up, Jak jumped and delivered double sidekicks to two other Sergeants.
Jak recalled his blade and continued on his way, many other Lurkers meeting a similar fate. Jak finally made it to the place where Wartstal said his Blue Eco Box resided. He peered in and a horrible sight met his eyes. The Lurker 's had apparently discovered how his Box worked, because several of them were building new ones. Jak burst in through the door and summoned two Eco Blades. Quickly slicing all of them down, Jak stacked all of the incomplete Eco Boxes next to each other and melted them. Jak scooped his originally Blue Eco Box up and went past the puddle of slag.
"Hey Jak. What is that thing?" Daxter asked. Jak looked where Daxter was pointing and saw a green orb lying on a table. He went closer and saw it was about the size of volleyball and was forged of Precursor metal. Jak picked it up off the table and stored it in his backpack; if it had to do with the Precursors, then he should keep it away from the Lurkers and give it to Samos. "Nice job Jak! Now all we gotta do is meet up with our good ol' pal." Jak nodded and kicked a ventilation shaft in. He crawled through and approached where the meeting place was. He heard two deep voices arguing back and forth in Elfish and decided, against Daxter's better judgment, to check it out.
Wartstal pushed the door of the room where the Green Eco Box dwelled. He groaned when he saw that Gol's apprentice was waiting guarding it. Judging by the way she didn't even seemed surprised at his entrance; Wartstal assumed that she had been waiting for him.
"Surprised to see me, traitor?" she asked offhandedly.
"Not really. I knew that you were kissing Gol's ass in order to become his apprentice, but I didn't know you had been promoted to wiping it too."
"Why you insolent little..."
"What's the matter? Can't think of a good insult?"
"Fine. I'll just rip you apart!" The demon bellowed as it lunged for him.
Wartstal flipped backwards as the demon slashed at him wildly, parrying and blocking quite calmly. His actions did little more than aggravate the demon: she let out an incoherent bellow of rage, only to grab her throat when Wartstal kicked her in the neck. She snarled as he ran in for the kill, his claws extended, and shot a blast of lightning at him.
Pain far worse than having a hole punched through your chest gripped Wartstal as the Dark Lightning attack traveled over his body and burned his skin. He screamed as the corrupted power ran through his body, twisting and destroying everything it touched.
"There. Maybe now you won't go off and unite with the filthy elves." The demon spat at him. Miraculously, Wartstal smiled.
"What's the matter? Can't stand the fact that you were once a 'filthy elf' Escuro?" The demon called Escuro shrieked in rage and surprise.
"How dare you bring that up? I'll kill you!" She screeched as she extended her wrist katana on her left arm. She swung downward, planning to decapitate Wartstal.
"Ah, well..." Wartstal sighed as the blade closed in. After five seconds or so of not dying, Wartstal looked up and saw Jak, quite literally his knight in shining armor. He had used his Eco Blade to intercept the sword and halt it. Wartstal looked up at his savior and saw his eyes shining with a mixture of rage and compassion. Jak swung upwards and caused Escuro to lose her defensive position and he shot a beam of Yellow Eco at her chest. It did not, as he had planned, blasted a hole right through, but it did at least cause the skin to burn.
"You'll need more power than that to stop me boy," Escuro called as she retracted her blade and shot a blast of Dark Lightning at him. Jak angled his sword and the attack rebounded right back at her. She proved to have reflexes quicker than even her mentor, as she simply extended her and the lightning became a ball of dark energy.
Jak raised his left arm and the beam of Dark Eco Escuro sent at him degenerated into nothing. Jak called his own blade back and flipped his Blue Eco Box on instead. He rushed in and began melee fighting with his enemy. After dodging three punches, the demon extended her wrist blade. Jak ducked underneath it and grabbed her arm. Jak snapped the blade off her wrist and then snapped her arm.
Wailing, Escuro jerked back and disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Jak glared at the spot where she had been before turning around to examine Wartstal. To Jak's surprise, Wartstal was standing with a grim smile on his face, looking tired and out of breath, but whole.
"Good job Jak." Wartstal said between gasps of breath. "She won't be returning to bother you for a while. And I imagine Gol won't be too pleased with her for losing to you again." He added with a forbidding smile. Jak walked over to the pedestal where his Green Eco Box sat and strapped it to his chest next to the other three.
"Did you at least manage to get one of the boxes? I mean, your not going to be much use to us if we're always going to be saving your ass." Daxter commented to Wartstal. Jak stared at his friend: that was a bit harsh. Wartstal effectively translated Jak's next thought into words as he handed Jak the Red Eco Box.
"I think this is a perfect example of 'the pot calling the kettle black.' How many times has Jak saved you?"
"None, I've been the one that's been saving him."
"You have not, I saw you quivering in fear the entire time."
"Hey, that was"
Jak had had quite enough of this bickering at this and he thought that shooting a beam of Yellow Eco through the roof would get their attention. By a gigantic stroke of luck, it did. Both Daxter and Wartstal stopped arguing with each other and looked sheepishly at Jak. Jak pointed to a map on the wall and Wartstal went and got it. Smoothing it out on the table, Wartstal watched as Jak traced a route to a room that seemed to be hidden behind the armory.
"Why do we need to go there Jak? We got the Eco Boxes, so can't we get outta this place already?" Daxter whined. Jak shook his head and summoned his Eco Blade again.
"Oh right, we need to get the Eco Sabers that they took. But how did you know they were there?" Wartstal asked. Jak pointed to the room again and traced the outline. Wartstal looked closer and he saw that there were no entrances to that hidden room, which meant that it was the likeliest place for the Lurker to hide the Sabers.
"All right, let's go steal some shit!" Daxter exclaimed as he got on Jak's shoulder. "Wait a minute. How are we gonna get Jak to the armory. Every Lurker, well, all but one of them," Daxter added, looking at Wartstal, "wants Jak dead."
"I actually had a brainstorm about that." Wartstal said with a smile.
"Well, what is it?" Daxter asked, his eyes bright and shining. Jak was staring at Wartstal with mild interest as well. As Wartstal explained the plan, Daxter shook his head violently.
"Well? What do you think?" Wartstal asked. A small part of Jak had to admit that it was a good idea, but it was just so... degrading. He looked at Daxter.
"No way in Foretaste, Legatee, or Weyard Jak. That's just so... degrading." Jak agreed, but upon further reflection, he realized that it was the easiest way. He nodded to Wartstal and turned around. As he and Daxter got out the door, Wartstal made a sudden movement towards Jak.
Jak turned around too late to prevent Wartstal from tying his hands and feet together. As Jak struggled to keep his balance, Wartstal pushed him over and Jak fell on the ground. Wartstal stuffed a ball of material in Daxter's mouth and shoved him in Jak's backpack. He then finished the jobs by tying Jak's limbs so tight to his body that the circulation got cut off.
(Later)
"Xuck! Nxoho uho oei kubadw kxo Channeler?" (Halt! Where are you taking the Channeler?) A Sergeant guarding the armory asked.
"Kxo Dark Lord xuj kxuk kxo Channeler'j cavo aj ke ro kohmadukot. Ammotaukco. Udt xo xuj ehtehot mo ke te ak ucedo." (The Dark Lord has requested that the Channeler's life is to be terminated. Immediately. And he has ordered me to do it alone.) Wartstal replied, puffing his chest out proudly.
"Kxod nxo tat oei rhadw eik ev fhajed?" (Then why did you bring him out of prison?)
"Xo ojsufot udt A fhokodtot ke re xaj vhaodt. A bdesbot xam eik, kaot xam if, udt A xulo tosatot ke bacc xam ijadw kxo Eco Jurohj kxuk no xulo xattod roxant kxo uhmeho." (He escaped and I pretended to be his friend. I knocked him out, tied him up, and I have decided to kill him using the Eco Sabers that we have hidden behind the armory.)
"To oei bden kxo fujjneht?" (Do you know the password?)
"De. Kxo Dark Lord covk roveho A seict ujb xam. Nxuk aj ak?" (No. The Dark Lord left before I could ask. What is it?)
"Jamfco. Magiola." (Simple. MAGIOLA.)
"Kxudb oei." (Thank you.)
Wartstal walked past the guard with Jak slumped over his shoulder and closed the door. He quickly drew a knife and approached Jak with it. Jak woke up to the sight of Wartstal coming at him with a knife. Wartstal slashed downward right through the rope binding Jak, who leapt up immediately and glared at Wartstal.
"What? Oh yea, sorry about banging your head on the wall and knocking you out. We must work fast before someone realizes what we're up to. You look for a part of the wall with letters on it." Jak saluted and Wartstal walked up to the door. Edging it open ever so slightly, he drew a knife and stabbed the Sergeant in the back of the head. Before the body slumped over, Wartstal caught it and positioned it so that anyone passing by would think that the Sergeant was still on duty. Going back inside, he saw Jak and Daxter hovering near a series of boxes.
"What are you guys doing? We need to find the hidden entrance." Jak pointed at the boxes. Each of them had a letter on it, and in the back of each one was a button. Wartstal congratulated Jak on his ingenuity and pressed them in the order the Sergeant had instructed him. A hidden panel opened in the wall and all three of them entered. In the center of the plain room was the box full of the Eco Sabers Samos had told them about.
Jak reached for one, but the instant he had touched one, alarms started blaring. "Shit," Wartstal and Daxter said at the same time.
"There's no way we'll be able to move all of them out of here now: the guards will be along any moment. How many can we fit in your backpack Jak?" Jak thought a second before holding up nine fingers. "All right. That's how many we'll take then." After cramming nine in Jak's backpack, Wartstal activated one and they marveled at it. A shaft of metal shot out about two feet before being surrounded with green light.
"Wow," Daxter breathed. Wartstal swung it experimentally a few times before turning to Jak.
"Let's go." Jak nodded and summoned two Eco Blades to assist Wartstal. Just as Wartstal had predicted, getting out of the fortress was hell. But as the swarm of Lurkers that entered the room found out, Wartstal was very skilled with a sword. This, when combined with the fact that a Channeler of nearly Sage-like proportions, made for an infinitely deadly combo.
After about five minutes, Jak and Wartstal had finally managed to kill all the Lurkers that had entered the armory. Even still, Jak seriously doubted that they were the only living things inside the fortress. He formed his Eco Blades into spheres, planning on using long distance instead of melee fighting.
As more Lurkers swarmed on the group on their way out, Jak peppered them with Yellow Eco blasts about the size of cherries while Wartstal sliced through anything stupid enough to get close. At last, after killing countless amounts of Lurker's, Jak and Wartstal arrived at the front gate.
"Would you like to do the honors Jak?" Wartstal asked as he stepped aside. Jak grinned and Channeled Red Eco into his entire body. With one kick, he shattered the front doors and they saw a gondola that looked like it was leading back to Snowy Conurbation.
"But but but... how is this possible? We came up this way!" Daxter exclaimed. Jak turned around and saw that the Lurkers had disguised the Fort to look exactly like a mountain, which was why they had walked right past it. As Jak and Wartstal walked towards the gondola, Daxter shouted out.
"We can't go yet. We gotta find the key to the Green Eco Temple." Jak groaned: he was tired, hungry, and getting a little cold. Wartstal noticed the orb on Jak's back and asked to see it. Jak pulled it out and Wartstal clapped his hands together.
"Don't worry guys. This is the key to the Green Eco Temple. I should know. I found it. I planted it in the fort planning to go back later and get it, but you guys saved me some time in that respect. Shall we go?" Jak nodded and they all went on the gondola, passing out as it made its way slowly but steadily back to the town.
"There you are Jak! How did you make out?" Jak gave him a thumb's up while Daxter immediately launched into a tale about how Jak had gotten captured and "he" had busted Jak out, found everything they needed, killed and entire tribe of Lurkers and carried Jak down the mountain single-handedly.
"So, anything unusual happen?" Samos inquired. Jak nodded and whistled with his fingers. Wartstal stepped into the house, eliciting a scream from Keira and causing Samos to grab his staff.
"Wait, I mean you no harm." Wartstal said quickly. Samos and Keira looked stunned, but their expressions of shock were nothing compared to what they looked like at the end of his tale. Jak nodded as Wartstal finished.
"Well then, it appears that we have fared better than I had hoped. Now, Wartstal, Jak, what would you say to a nice hot meal. Keira and I just finished preparing a stew. Would you like to join us?" Both of them nodded and all four of them went onto the kitchen. Jak and Keira sat down at the table while Samos and Wartstal went back into the living room to discus stopping Gol.
As Jak ate, Keira gazed shyly at him. Jak finished his meal and stood up. Keira walked up to him and hugged him fiercely. Surprised, it was some time before Jak reacted and held her closer to him.
"I was so worried about you Jak. I thought you might have gotten hurt up there." Keira said, tears leaking out of her eyes. Jak wiped them away and smiled at her before kissing her on the forehead. He chucked her under the chin and went into his room. He then took his armor and belt off and collapsed on the bed, his mind floating away.
Meanwhile, Keira stood still, her hand pressing lightly where Jak had kissed her. The fact of it sank in and she grinned broadly as she went back to the Zoomer to make sure she had fully repaired it.
Elsewhere... Gol and Maia were discussing their plans to open the Silos.
"So, sister, he has gone to their side?"
"Yes brother, it appears Wartstal has betrayed us and is now helping the old Green Sage."
"Ah well, I knew he would eventually."
"How long do you think it will take for Alecis, Santar and Zeorro to finish our, 'project'?"
"It's hard to say. Without Tarea and Potentia, it will take about a year. If we can persuade the other two to join us, then we could be ready within six months."
"By then the whelp might have reached us."
"So what? You should know sister, none can oppose our will. I intend for Jak to make it all the way to out Citadel. Once he is here, we will destroy everything he holds dear. That will teach him not to defy the will of Dark Eco."
"So, it is settled then Wartstal?" Samos asked.
Wartstal nodded. "We must go to the Green Eco Temple, through the Spider Caves, and then to the Desert Goliath. You say that is the path we should stick to?"
"Yes, from there it should be relatively simple and quick to reach Gol's Citadel in time to stop him."
Yes, well, I realize many of you (and by that I mean the three people whose lives I haven't traumatized with unmitigated crap) are hurling shoes, RPG's money (all right) and ballistic missiles at me. Please, I want to live! At least long enough for my clone to reach seventeen years of age, then your free to blow me away. Anyway, I actually managed to update on time for once. To all of those that read, sorry for wasting your time. To all of those that reviewed, thank you very much. If there is anything you would like to share, please do, I will answer any questions, use (almost) any idea, and reply to any comment. Until next Sunday then, adios!