Wow! A double. Yea, I'll shut up and let you read it, although be warned: psychological problems may follow.
Gol's Final Trap
When Jak finally made it back to the chamber where he had left the Sages, he saw that there was now a shouting match going on. The four Sages were shouting at Gol who eventually made himself heard over everyone else.
"You're too late, Samos! Once I possess limitless Dark Eco, I will have the key to creation itself!" Gol shouted, the old maniacal look seeping back into his eyes.
"This is madness! Releasing that much Dark Eco will destroy everything we know! Just look at what it's done to YOU!" Alecis bellowed. Maia appeared in a puff of smoke, Gravis and Benedict appearing below her.
"It has given us a beauty beyond anything YOU could understand!" She proudly proclaimed. Daxter's face changed to resemble something between disgusted and sickened.
"'Beauty'? Have you two looked in the mirror lately!" He screeched. Maia glared at him.
"As I said, it is something that you could never understand." Daxter assumed a showy voice.
"Evidently, madam, you and I differ greatly on our perceptions of beauty." Jak cracked a smile at this statement before closing his eyes and shaking slightly with laughter.
Maia narrowed at the she considered to be an insolent rodent. "Just wait until we open the silos, little one. You think short and fuzzy is bad…"
"Enjoy your front-row seats to the re-creation of the world!" Gol screamed as he flew up to the robot.
"No!" Zeorro shouted, shooting a beam of Blue Eco at Gol and dragging him back down. Gol landed on the floor with Maia. The four Eco Sages surrounded them while Alecis and Tarea made their way over to the robot and began trying to shut it down. Gravis and Benedict made their way over to the two females, but Jak leapt in front of them, blocking the Sages from harm.
"You ain't gonna be winnin' this one Gol," Potentia said as he held his gun in one hand and activated a golden Eco Saber in the other.
"We won't let you," Samos said, twirling his staff and triggering his own Eco Saber in its emerald glory. Gol sneered at them before drawing an Eco Saber out of nowhere and turning it on, revealing its violet glow.
"I will aid you with these maggots brother," Maia said as she flew to assist her brother, only to be dragged back by Zeorro's staff.
"You'll discover that to be reasonably problematical whilst confronting the two of us," he said as he initiated a cobalt Eco Saber and held his staff.
"You two have done enough damage for now. We won't you continue this quest for ultimate destruction," Santar said, lighting up his crimson Eco Saber and fiddling with a couple of switches on his outfit. Maia looked at the two of them before taking an Eco Saber off her belt and showing off its amethyst blade.
"Now now Jak. You've never beaten me, and Torqueo here is itching for a rematch. How on earth do you expect to defeat the two of us alone?" Jak blinked and did a double take on Benedict. He looked so different, even with the new eye and leg. He appeared to have aged at a faster rate. Where he had looked about Jak's age before, a month later he looked as if he had aged to about twenty-five. Jak guessed that this was due to the presence of Dark Eco in is system; unless your body is attuned to it, Dark Eco caused rapid aging, which of course led to a premature death of old age.
"He won't be alone!" a voice shouted out before Margaret landed and stood next to Jak. Benedict's eye widened as he stared at his sibling.
"Margaret…" he whispered. Gravis glared at this unusual sign of affection from what until now had been a guiltless and soulless shell. Jak distracted him by summoning an Eco Blade and attacking. Gravis quickly summoned a Dark Eco Blade and began vying with the Channeler.
Benedict seemed to compose himself and he stared at his sister. "Gol had been expecting you to join us."
"I know… brother." Margaret said, barely able to say the second word; her brother looked so different.
"So, you have accepted the truth." Benedict said triumphantly, afraid his sister would have rejected him.
"I've accepted the truth that you were once Benedict Riddle, my brother." Benedict's relieved face quickly turned to one of anger.
"That name no longer has any meaning for me." Margaret shook her head as she stared into her brother's one good transformed eye.
"It is the name of your true self. You've only forgotten. I know there is good in you. Gol hasn't driven it from you fully yet."
"You don't know the power of Dark Eco. I must obey my master." Benedict said reflexively. His eye showed the conflict; the yellow and black that had been there for a month was now partially brown and white. The two raged back and forth, each trying with equal determination to dominate.
"Your thoughts betray you. I see the good in you… the conflict." Benedict closed his eye and turned away.
"Search your feelings. You can't do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate." Benedict looked at her and she saw that the yellow was receding. Benedict was almost back. "Come back and help me and Jak!"
Unfortunately, that had been exactly the wrong thing to say. Benedict's eye opened wide as the yellow rushed forth and consumed his normally auburn gaze. "Jak! Look at what he has done to me! I'll never return to his side." Margaret looked at her brother sadly for a second before looking him straight in the eye. Benedict shivered as her gaze seemed to pierce his very soul.
"My brother is truly dead." Margaret said. This one statement caused the evil within him to triumph.
"You see! She has rejected you!" It roared.
"Yes…" Benedict muttered back.
"And she's allied herself with that murderous bastard," it said to him in a softer voice.
"Yes, she has" Benedict said, his voice now at a normal level.
"She'll have to be killed," it crooned to him.
"YES!" Benedict roared before launching himself at his own flesh and blood.
No one had noticed the doors had slammed shut and they were trapped in the room.
As Samos and Potentia charged Gol, Samos recalled the last time he had done this, he had lost. And now he was even weaker. Then again, he had Potentia to help him out, so the two of them might triumph over Go and prevent him from opening the Silos. Like last time, Samos put his mind to rest as he concentrated on the battle in the here and now.
Gol brought his sword up in a horizontal slash, but Samos used a vertical block to stop it. Gol began spinning in the opposite direction and attacked, his cape keeping Potentia from seeing the hilt of the Saber. The light, however gave the Saber's position away and Potentia blocked the incoming assault. Although he blocked the Eco Saber, Potentia did not expect Gol to grab out with his fake hand and snatch his gun. Gol pulled on the gun, trying to take it away from Potentia, while said Yellow Sage was doing all he could to prevent such a thing from happening. What happened next was slightly comical: Samos slapped Gol's hand away using his staff. Gol deactivated his Eco Saber and blasted Samos away with a telekinetic blast. Potentia once again tried to snatch his gun back when he realized the muzzle of the gun was facing Gol. Shaking his head in disbelief that he could have missed it for so long, Potentia charged up a blast and Gol went flying back, his chest exposed because of the blast.
Samos rushed in and brought his sword down and to the left, but his weapon was deflected. Gol pushed Samos' sword back and copied the attack; he came down and to the left. Samos blocked and spun his sword around and came up and to the right, trying to slice off Gol's legs. Gol blocked the attack and backhanded Potentia in the jaw to prevent him from slicing him in half at the waist. The Yellow Sage backed off and brought his sword up behind his head before slamming it down just as Samos brought his across. Gol ducked under both attacks and the two swords impacted. As the Sages backed away from each other, Gol threw both of them away with a Dark Bomb.
Samos staggered back under the power of Gol and Gol swung down, trying to cut the elderly Sage in half from the head to the groin. Samos blocked and pushed his blade up, leaving Gol temporarily defenseless, and Potentia delivered another blast from his gun. Gol went staggering forwards, where Samos blasted him with a Green Eco Beam. Gol gritted his teeth as the two beams hit him and ate away his clothes before working on his skin. He let out a roar one would not think he could dish out as his power exploded and overrode the two beams before impacting the Sages. Samos and Potential got to their feet and made their way over to each other. Samos healed the two of them before they charged in again.
Gol growled in frustration as Potentia and Samos attacked as one. Their combos nearly shattered his defenses and he found himself desperately blocking and evading, unable to get a strategy going beyond trying to keep himself alive. At last, Gol caught a break and he turned the tables by throwing Samos back with a blow from his fake hand. He then struck out at Potentia, and now it was he that was desperately blocking Gol's furious attack, trying to avoid getting a hit scored upon him.
As Gol made a hit, his sword slipping through the Sage's raised blade to draw a line of blood from itsright side all the way up to his left collarbone, Samos had finally reentered the fight and slammed Gol in the side with a telekinetic blast. Gol went flying back, hovering above the ground to avoid hitting his head and getting a concussion.
Growling, Samos leapt at his opponent, bringing his Eco Saber down from above with all his strength. Gol called upon a technique he had done while fighting Samos the last time; he gripped his sword with two hands, his real one on the end of the grip, the fake gauntlet upon the end of the Saber itself. He held it horizontally, and succeeded in not only blocking the Sage's strike, but threw him back into the air, where he came in for a rather uncomfortable landing nearly ten feet away.
Immediately, Potentia flew in and Gol and was scarcely able to avoid being skewered, as Potentia had hurled his Saber at him. Gol dodged to the right before getting nailed by another blast of Yellow Eco. He growled and decided that the gun had to go. As Gol ran at Potentia, Samos got behind him. Realizing the severity of the situation too late to correct it, the vile elf felt its feet be knocked out from underneath him by the use of a mental blast.
As the Dark Lord began a trip to the ground, Samos slammed his tree bark shoe into Gol's back hard. The blow succeeded in driving the breath from Gol's lungs. His breathing situation did not improve at all when he hit the stone floor, nor did what follow help at all either. Samos stepped on Gol's chest and caved it in once more. As Samos prepared to kill Gol, the Dark Sage dropped his Saber and threw out both his hands. Samos formed a shield around himself as Gol charged a blast up, but another Yellow Eco Burst prevented this.
Gol shot a surprise scythe of Dark Eco and cut the gun of Potentia in half. Gol rushed in and Potentia swung his Saber as he tossed a myriad amount of small grenades at Gol. Gol shot a blast at Potentia that overwhelmed the small grenades and caused the Sage to go flying back.
"My Channeling abilities are far beyond yours." Gol said as Potentia defiantly got to his feet. Gol sighed before launching a stream of Dark Lightning. Samos shot a blast at Potentia that expanded into a shield and protected him from the onslaught.
Gol snarled and swung right for Samos' head but his attack was blocked. Gol swung his arms behind his back and tossed the Saber between them. With lightning speed, he came in to the left at Samos' midriff, but again was blocked, this time by the Yellow Sage.
Samos backed off an inch and stabbed, but his attack was parried away by his adversary. As he did this, Potentia spun around and aimed his Saber right at Gravis' head. To his annoyance, he was blocked along with Samos. Gol came in up and to the right, yet Samos proved to be just as fast as him. He swiftly parried an incoming blow to his chest from his heart's side from Potentia before both Sages came in low and in opposite directions. Gol was barely able to block both attacks but he managed somehow.
Samos did something one would have thought impossible given his age; a whole back flip over Gol's head and landing opposite him. Gol swung around to prevent his ears from being parted with the rest of his head. Potentia made a motion with his hand and Samos nodded. Potentia backed off and began concentrating his power.
"Master Hagia, you're disappointing me again. Surely you can do better than this feeble attempt?" Gol taunted as he twirled his blade and came in for Samos' shoulder and then his arm. Both attacks were blocked, and the two of them locked blades as they circled each other. Gol broke free and spun around. Samos blocked Gol' next three attempts on his life and they locked blades once more. Samos charged up a ball of Green Eco. He slammed it into Gol's body and it sent him flying back into a wall. Samos smiled with satisfaction as he heard a cracking sound he was fairly certain was caused by a few ribs breaking. Gol got to his feet and his body glowed with an un-light; a darkness that no light could penetrate. Dark Eco swept over his body and healed to weaknesses and injuries his frail body had been dealt.
As Samos rushed in, Gol shot a blast of Dark Lightning. Samos hastily erected a barrier to ward it off. Just as the Dark Lightning got to Samos' shield, it branched out everywhere and attacked from every angle. It eventually blasted through and the shield broke. Samos clenched his jaw, determined not to scream with the pain as nearly one and a half thousand volts of electricity entered his body, determined not to give Gol that sick pleasure. As it was, all he did was thrash around in mid-air until Gol stopped his attack. Samos collapsed on the floor, his body sweating and shaking. As Samos healed his body, he still felt the unbelievable quantities of pain it had just been put through. Gol raised his hand as Samos struggled to get to his feet and blew him back down with a clairvoyant blast. Samos fell backwards and Gol walked up to him. He raised his Eco Saber and prepared to strike down the old Sage.
"Now, it ends," he hissed as his blade came down. Samos closed his eyes and prepared for death when suddenly an enormous light almost seared his eyes. He opened his eyes and saw Potentia blocking Gol with his bare hands, his aura overwhelming even Gol's. Gol shot a blast at Potentia but it proved useless. Potentia shot a massive blast at Gol and did not relent when Gol impacted the wall. Even as he was being blasted away, Gol began to grin as the Eco impacted the wall. Potentia ran out of power after thirty seconds and collapsed on the floor. Samos rushed in as he saw that Gol was not been killed and was slowly healing himself. Gol sent the old Sage flying back with a blast as he walked over to Potentia.
The exhausted Sage was struggling to stay awake and bared his teeth as Gol knelt down. "Thank you. I was hoping you would use the Eco Wave technique. That was just what I needed." Gol left the Sage to ponder this enigmatic line before knocking him out with his metal glove. Samos got to his feet and his body began to sweat as Gol rushed in and he realized he was alone against the fury of the Dark Lord.
Gravis summoned two swords as Jak pushed forward, his improved swordsmanship showing itself as he was finally on par with the Lurker. Eventually Gravis caught a break and kicked Jak away. Jak began to rush in but stopped, utterly refusing to believe what his eyes were showing him.
Two hands had emerged from the shoulders and were rapidly growing into full-blown hands. As Gravis finished his transformation from a four-limbed creature to a six-limbed one, he summoned two more Eco Blades so that he wielded four. Jak gulped and began to sweat as his opponent rushed in.
Gravis swung all of his Blades in different directions, angling his attacks in an attempt to overwhelm Jak. Jak desperately tried to block two Blades with each of his but it was quickly proving impossible. Gravis smirked as Jak began to back up under his assault. Gravis put two of his Blades away and used those hands instead as regular fists, albeit ones surrounded by dark Eco. He scored a few hits on Jak's chest, causing burn marks to appear and Jak to wince slightly as his skin became raw.
After his chest resembled nothing more than a red doormat, Jak erected a Green Eco barrier to keep Gravis away while he healed. He was surprised when Gravis simply tore through it and summoned four balls of Dark Eco. He slammed all four into Jak's chest and Jak went flying back, landing hard on the floor. He did not notice that the as his Blade hit the floor, it got shorter instead of slicing right through it. Jak got to his feet and healed himself, dispersing one of his Eco Blades as he did so.
"Committing suicide Jak?" Gravis taunted as Jak began Channeling Red Eco as he increased the size of his Eco Blade to what he had used against the Lurker Centipedes. As he rushed in, Gravis spun all of his Blades to make in utterly impossible to tell which way he was going to attack from. As he closed the distance, Jak began to focus his powers, but kept an impassive face so Gravis would not be able to figure out what he was up to. Just as Gravis began his attack, Jak unleashed a massive blast of fire, catching the sword-wielding Lurker off guard. As he went flying back, Jak swung his Blade and sent streams of Yellow Eco flying along the ground. Gravis landed in a heap from the sheer power of the fire blast Jak had hit him with. He let out a swear as he saw the ground-based attack traveling towards him. As he leapt over it, he heard something above and looked up only to get kicked in the face.
As Gravis went hurtling down, Jak sent another couple of slashes at him. These hit and Gravis cried out at the Eco ripped through his body, causing lacerations and incisions to appear everywhere. He quickly got to his feet, realizing that to remain on the floor would be bad. Jak landed and grabbed two of Gravis' arms before leaning back and kicking his enemy right in the face. Gravis staggered back and Jak jumped and flipped over his. As he began his descent, Jak summoned a Yellow Eco Blade and hoped what he was planning worked. Gravis spun around in a vain attempt to prevent Jak from inflicting the damage he wanted to but was not fast enough. Gravis screamed as Jak made his strike, but it was to be expected.
Such was usually one's reaction after having two arms hacked off.
As the appendages hit the ground, Gravis clutched his shoulders where they had been as he kneeled. Jak prepared to finished but stopped when winds started whipping violently around Gravis. As the Lurker raised his head, Jak became worried: all possible rational had been driven away from his opponent's eyes.
Margaret staggered back under the ferocious assault Torqueo inflicted upon her. She hadn't thought that he would really attack. A small naïve part of her had believed that he could never attack her, his own sister. She summoned Yellow Eco into her hands and blocked his strikes, her Yellow Eco clashing with his Dark Eco. The two of them fought in an almost synchronized pattern. This was to be expected, since they had similar martial art stances, being brother and sister and both having been trained by Jak. She ducked a furious roundhouse kick and slammed palms into his ribs, causing Torqueo to go reeling back, his chest exposed from the power of Yellow Eco. He healed the reddish raw skin that had appeared back to normal and lunged back at her. He sent a stream of Dark Eco Lightning at her and Margaret jumped over it. As she came down, she landed in front of him and he hesitated for a split second, sure that she would attack him. After not feeling anything for a second, Torqueo grabbed his sister by the throat and threw her away.
Margaret got to her feet as she clutched her throat. Again, her naivety had put her under the belief that her brother would not be able to bring himself to hurt her. As she stared into his eyes as he walked towards her, she searched desperately for a trace of the warm soul she had known long ago. There was no trace of him anywhere. She steeled herself and attacked, Red Eco supplying her enough power to make him dodge the strike instead of letting it hit him. Undeterred, Margaret continued attacking, knowing that she would have to knock the sense back into her brother, even if it killed her. As she landed a kick to his chest that caused him to grab his ribs, she reflected on the fact that she would gladly sacrifice her own life if it would mean her brother would return to the way he used to be.
Torqueo snarled at the pain, and yet a part of him was happy. He had been afraid, if one had to put a name to the exact emotion he had felt, that his sister would not prove herself to be a worthy opponent. As she came in, he punched out with his metal arm and she was blown back by the wind it produced. As she lost her balance, Torqueo struck out again and caused her to fall over and roll for a while before stopping. As she struggled to her feet, Torqueo sent a third one at her and she skidded on the floor, her body being rubbed raw by the odd texture of the flooring.
Margaret got to her feet and glared at her brother, who sneered back. As he brought his fist back to bow her away again she shot a decent blast of Yellow Eco at him. He had not been expecting such a massive attack and his body went flying back against a wall. She rushed in and he blasted her with Dark Lightning.
Pain. That was the only thing that Margaret understood as the corrupted Eco made its way through her body, ravaging her systems and setting every nerve she had on fire.
As his sister screamed in pain, Torqueo stopped his assault.
"You see the power of Dark Eco?" he asked her. "You could command this power too if you would only, urf-" the rest of his sentence was cut off as his sister got up with blinding speed and socked him in the stomach. As he bent over, clutching the aching part of his body, Margaret changed from Blue to Red Eco and smashed her elbow down on her sibling's back. Torqueo instantly went rigid, his body paralyzed by the powerful blow. As he collapsed, Margaret seized him by his shirt and raised him up before delivering blow after blow to his stomach. He choked back blood as she ruptured some internal veins and arteries. As she continued, he could hold it back no longer and coughed blood right into her eyes.
Margaret dropped her brother and wiped her eyes off furiously. When she opened them, she saw a giant flash of purple light as a split-second warning that a Dark Beam was heading her way. Even though a Green Eco shield protected her, Margaret had to strain herself to keep it up, since this was a relatively new technique. As she was pushed back from the power of the blast, Torqueo healed his battered body and stood up, not as strong as he had been before, but still just as determined to bring his sister down if she would not join him.
Margaret gathered Yellow Eco around her hands once more and threw a punch at Torqueo. Said elf grabbed it with his fake hand and threw a punch at her. She caught it and the two of them struggled for dominance, streams of Eco scattering everywhere as the two types were forced against each other. Margaret did not notice, in her fury, that the Eco, rather than cause damage to the ground, seemed to be sucked into it. She also failed to notice that the Precursor Robot was starting to glow ever so slightly. She did, however, notice that her brother had leaned back and dropped to his back. As he lifted her up, Torqueo kicked her in the stomach and used a wonderful thing called momentum to send her flying backwards. As she got to her feet, Torqueo summoned every bit of power he had and sent a small but very concentrated beam of Dark Eco at her. Margaret quickly summoned a shield, but it was almost immediately broken due to the sheer power of the Dark Beam. Margaret expanded the shield and struggled to keep it up, scared of death. As Torqueo's eyes narrowed and he intensified the power of the beam, she cried out from the strain and fear as the beam broke through and headed for her.
Santar unleashed an explosion of flame at Maia, who leapt over the attack and charged Zeorro. The neurotic Sage brought his sword up in a horizontal block and intercepted a vertical attack. Santar brought his sword in and Maia twirled around and interrupted it. She brought her Saber down and to the left, aiming for the Blue Sage but again she was deflected. Santar pushed Maia's Saber back and copied her last attack; he came down and to the left. Maia blocked and spun his sword around and came up and to the right, trying to slice of Zeorro's legs. Zeorro blocked the attack and brought his sword up behind his head before slamming it down.
Maia dodged the blow with relative ease and slammed a Dark Grenade into his body. As the Sage went flying back, Santar rushed in. As Maia swung her sword straight down, he blocked it with his own and grabbed it with his hand. After crushing it as easily as if it were a Nemotoid, Santar punched her in the chest and she went flying back.
Maia pried herself out of the wall and reentered the battle, a hole in her armor a testimony to Santar's unbelievable strength. She summoned Dark Eco and attacked, the Eco providing her with slightly enhanced speed and strength. Santar matched her easily, inflicting blow after blow as he dodged and blocked her attacks.
"What is going on?" Maia wondered as she tried to swing. An unknown power was slowing her down. She looked over at Zeorro and saw that he was slowing her down with his Blue Eco power. She flew at him and shot a blast of Dark Eco. When the dust cleared, there was no trace of his body left. Maia smirked as she resumed her duel with Santar. Now that Zeorro was not able to slow her down using his Econetic energies, she was more than a match for the Red Eco Sage.
As Santar was sent crashing down to the ground, Maia unleashed a gigantic blast of Dark Lightning at him. The sheer power of the initial blast knocked the Sage out, but Maia continued to inflict pain on the Sage, even if he was unable to feel it. Suddenly she sensed someone behind her and spun around but was blasted backward by an unknown force.
Gol let out a roar as he once again sliced wildly at Samos. Samos blocked his attack and appeared to work very hard to stop Gol's next onslaught. Samos finally caught a break and sent Gol flying into the wall hard enough to leave another silhouette of his body behind with a single psychic blast.
After healing his body once again, Gol jumped right back in, attempting to catch Samos off guard by attacking after such a short amount of time after being dealt such a crushing blow. He failed and began resumed the duel with the old Sage.
Gol continued to drive forward as he came in from below and to the right, causing Samos to backpedal. Samos blocked the incoming strike with relative ease before ducking under a swipe that would have shortened him by a good foot or so. Gol stabbed and Samos parried the incoming blow, sending both their Sabers around in tow full circles before they broke apart. Gol stopped for only the instant he needed to get his Saber under control before coming in once more. Samos spun around and blocked another strike from Gol before realizing he would have to get the offensive back soon. The two exchanged blows with lightning speed as they tried to defeat one another.
Samos swung his head back to dodge yet another strike before arching his body back so that he did not get a gash in it. The old Sage parried another strike before spreading his arms out in a deliberate "come and get me, I'm right here," statement in an attempt to infuriate the Dark Lord.
It worked… to say the least.
Gol came in screaming as he called upon every trick and technique that he had in the book to try and just kill this infuriating old man. Samos caught an incoming stab and got in close with his opponent. The two of them bared their teeth and snarled at each other as they circled on the spot, each one grabbing and being grabbed at the same time.
Finally they broke apart and Samos shoved Gol back. The two of them raised their Sabers over their heads before restarting the duel. As they fought, they rotated on the spot so that they switched positions. Gol hissed at Samos as they eyed each other briefly before going at it again.
Samos unleashed a furious assault on Darth Akaron, causing the twisted elf to back up. Still Samos pressed on, his mythical fortitude and overcoming his failing power and causing Gol to have to open doors as he continued to back up.
Gol snarled at Samos and launched another Dark Eco Lightning blast at the Sage. Samos changed the angle on his Saber and the lightning rebounded upon Gol. Although Gol had not fired a strong blast, it was enough to stun him. Samos sent Gol flying back and the Dark Lord rolled on the ground before getting to his feet and looking around for Samos.
Said Sage came flying out of the darkness and turned on his Eco Saber. Gol took off into the air and hovered in flight, waiting. As Samos rushed him, Gol blasted Dark Lightning at Samos. Samos tried to deflect it with his sword but the force proved to be too much and it was blasted out of his grip. Samos reeled back slightly before the force of Gol's power. Samos stuck his hands out and the Dark Lightning gathered into a small ball. The two of them screwed up their faces in concentration as they both attempted to get closer. Samos closed his eyes under the strain and Gol pressed forward, believing the advantage to be his. Samos opened his eyes and Gol saw them burning. For the first time in a few years, fear clutched at Gol's heart as Samos extended his hands and the two of them got within an inch of each other.
Suddenly the force of the bolts dissipating almost as soon as they were created caused a backlash effect. Samos and Gol were both hurled backwards. However, while Gol floated gently down to the ground, Samos had run out of power and impacted the ground. Hard.
Gol began laughing insanely as he saw the old Sage lose consciousness again. Samos woke backup suddenly and tried to fire a Green Eco Bomb at Gol but something was wrong. As soon as he summoned energy, it left him suddenly. Potentia had awoken and was trying the same thing, but to no avail.
"Holy damn!" Jak thought as Gravis summoned two Eco Blades and attacked mercilessly. "I thought he was hard with four Eco Blades. I guess I gave him the proper motivation." Gravis brought his Blades down in an X fashion and Jak blocked him, locking Blades. Jak shoved upward and Gravis leapt back, neither caring the other saw them gasp for breath.
Gravis eyed Jak as he tensed up and he leapt at the same time as the Channeler. He blocked an incoming strike as Jak spun around and attacked with his back turned. Gravis attempted to end the fight right then and there with a blow to the back of the head but Jak must have sensed it coming. Gravis crossed his arms as he lashed out yet again at Jak and even through his rage was surprised at the speed with which Jak blocked and countered. Jak ducked and back flipped as Gravis spun around and made a slash and stab at the same time. He rushed back in with an overhead chop and the two of them mêlée for a while, swinging their Sabers so fast it would have been impossible to differentiate them had they not been different colors. Indeed, Jak found himself almost guessing at which Blade of Gravis' was which, they both moved so fast.
Jak knocked away both of Gravis' Blades with one parry and stabbed at the open chest, but Gravis simply jumped over Jak with a flip and some twirls. As he landed, Gravis assumed a combat stance and ran in, holding one of his Blades knife-style. He charged and attempted to sheer Jak in half with the Blade farther away from Jak, but did not succeed. As he ran past Jak Gravis swung the Blade that was closer backwards and bared his teeth at nothing in particular when he felt it stop. He continued spinning and swinging, giving himself a dradle-like appearance. Jak blocked the incoming strikes that were varied in height and once or twice had to jump or duck to avoid being cut in half. As the strikes became faster, Jak knew he wouldn't be able to block fast enough and he started to back-peddle. It was a move that would prove to be a mistake. The mistake showed itself when Gravis threw a spinning back kick and caught Jak right in the ribs, since he had been preoccupied with the Blades.
As Jak skidded along the floor, he raised himself and charged in at Gravis, who easily brought his dark Blade down to block the attack, and then ducked beneath a kick that the Channeler had aimed at him. Quickly, the Lurker swung his weapon exposed back, only to find Jak's own Saber coming back to intercept it, forcing his towards the ground. Jak completed his rotation and caused Benedict to spin around. With a battle cry, Gravis continued spinning and attempted to backhand Jak with his metallic forearm, a blow that Jak only just avoided.
The Channeler performed a back flip, and landed a good five feet away from Gravis before bringing his Eco Blade up to an attack position and glaring at his opponent. Gravis did the same with his two, and for several moments, there was another lull in the fight while the two of them slowly circled one another, each trying to find a weakness, something that could be exploited.
This time, it would be Gravis that struck first, leaping forward and bringing his dark weapon up from below in an attack that would have cut Jak from his left hip to his right shoulder had Jak not parried. Not discouraged in the slightest, Gravis pressed his attacks, slicing to and fro as he attempted to bring his opponent down.
However, Gravis' offense was stolen away when his enemy suddenly kicked his hand and dispersing one of his Eco Blades before following through with a thrust kick to his chest that cracked a rib and sent him staggering. Unfortunately, as Jak brought his own weapon down in an attempt to split the dark creature's head open, Gravis was able to get his foil up in time to deflect the attack. The two blades grated against each other for a few seconds, sending sparks flying as the two adversaries snarled in each others faces as they grinded their weapons into each other even harder, as if hoping theirs would simply cut through the other's.
Abruptly, Jak broke the blade lock and backed away, balling up his left fist. Gravis let out a curse as the Channeler sent a torrent of Eco bolts at him as he furiously weaved his own Eco Blade back and forth as he frantically backpedaled in an attempt to get some distance between himself and his foe. Oh how Gravis would have loved to have the power to deflect incoming Eco blasts as Jak could do with his unique armor.
Such were Gravis' thoughts as he leapt into the air in order to avoid a charged up blast from the Eco using elf's arms. And it was also at that time that he decided that he'd need to get up close and take away Jak's ranged abilities, as he didn't really want to use any Dark Eco unless he lost his weapon; he was running low from forming Blades and then having them lost.
As he attempted to close the distance, Jak opened fire once more, and Gravis leapt forward and to his left, performing a barrel role type spin while in mid-leap, his purple weapon deflecting a few bolts that came close as his foe adjusted his aim. Gravis performed the maneuver again but to the right this time, trying to throw Jak off, before a third leap straight towards Jak placed him back in melee range.
Roaring in fury as he blocked the elf's opening attacks, Gravis swung with all of his enhanced might. Jak saw the amount of power behind the technique and opted to duck below the slash, rather than attempting to block it. In addition, the wisdom of such an action was revealed an instant later, as the Channeler continued through with his acrobatics, and brought his right foot slamming up into Gravis' face as he pushed off with his left.
Gravis felt stars explode in front of his vision as the kick, driven by Jak's considerable strength, connected. In a blind attempt to buy himself some time, he slammed one of his feet into the ground and a stream of Dark went right at Jak.
Jak, still in the process of landing from his flip, had no time to react, and bared his teeth in defiance as the blast connected and made him go flying back. As he got to his feet and healed his cooked skin, Jak leapt once more, using Blue Eco to stay in the air this time and go up and over Gravis before coming down in an attempt to get rid of him once and for all.
Unfortunately for the elf, his foe was able to spin out of the way in time, and he lashed out with his arm in a punch. On the bright side of things, Gravis' blow was made hastily, and as a result, was quite maladroit and unproblematic to avoid. Such a move also put the Lurker in a rather compromising position, something that Jak was swift in taking advantage of. He quickly dispersed his Blade and grabbed the Lurker's wrist with a cross grip. He pulled the arm up and shot his other arm underneath. He then bent the arm along the elbow, causing immense pain in the wrist. As Gravis struggled he only made it worse. Jak continued spinning around and was back to back with the Lurker. He bent forward and slammed Gravis into the ground, cracking some vertebrae. As Gravis tried to rise, Jak kicked him in the face, leapt up, and came smashing down on his elbow.
At first Jak mentally commended Gravis when he made no sound of pain.
Then he realized that Gravis had merely passed out from the pain.
Jak shook his head, unable to believe that he had finally defeated his opponent. A scream of pain made him look over to where Margaret was and he realized she was in trouble. Jak quickly took off to her with every intention of helping her defeat her twisted brother.
Of all the ways Margaret had thought she would die, this had not been one of them. Killed by her own brother who had fallen to the side of the Dark Lords. As she braced herself for what she assumed would be an extremely painful death, Margaret felt only two twinges of regret: that she had not brought her brother back to the light; and she had never had a good opportunity to say goodbye to George.
After a few seconds of feeling no pain, she looked up and saw that Jak was standing in front of her, trying to maintain a shield against the beam. It was easier for him since he was more used to using this technique, and because he was firing a beam of Yellow Eco out of the Green Eco shield, but that wasn't saying much. He was sweating and shaking from the exertion of trying to preserve the shield and fire a beam that came nowhere near the power of Torqueo's. There was a simple reason for this: fatigue. Jak was still tired from his duel with Gravis, and defending and attacking at the same time was by no means an easy feat.
Jak looked behind him to Margaret and motioned with his head for her to leave.
"No way Jak. There's no way I'm gonna leave you here to die," Margaret said furiously as she got to her feet. She pressed her chest against his back and stuck her arms out in front of his. Summoning every last bit of power in her body, Margaret launched a Yellow Eco Beam that went through the shield and pushed back the Dark Beam with such speed that Jak knew that there was no comparing Benedict and Margaret. When she used her emotions properly instead of letting them rule her, she became more powerful than anything Jak had yet to see.
Torqueo was blasted back by the sheer power of Margaret's attack. As he hit the wall, the Eco plowed into him, causing his hair to be burned off once again. The Eco that did not hit him went into the wall, where it was mysteriously sucked into the border. Right before he lost consciousness, Torqueo thought that he was going to die: he now had no stomach. The only good thing that the beam did to him was sear the skin so that he didn't bleed. With his last conscious breath, Torqueo damned his sister and Jak to the lowest level of Legatee.
"You!" Maia hissed.
"Me," Zeorro said calmly before rushing in so fast he appeared as little more than a blur. Maia snarled as she parried and thrust in the duel with the Blue Sage. Zeorro sank into the ground and came up behind her. Maia spun around, but not fast enough to avoid being picked up and tossed around like a beanbag.
Maia struggled to keep awake as Zeorro slammed her into the ground repeatedly. Suddenly she fell to the ground. Fell not was slammed into.
"How dare you attack my sister?" Gol hissed as he zapped Zeorro with Dark Lightning. The Blue Sage didn't respond, but that was quite understandable. It was natural not to talk while screaming in agony. Maia joined her brother and together the two Dark Lords put Zeorro into so much pain that he simply passed out.
"It is finished brother," Maia said, her eyes widening in delight.
"Yes sister, at last, victory is ours," Gol said as the trap he had prepared finally sprang.
Jak tried to concentrate on healing Margaret but he heard a rumbling sound that distracted him. He looked over at the robot and saw its eyes activate. The entire room seemed to freeze. Gol screamed in triumph as one by one the Sages fell, exhausted and drained of their Econetic energies.
"But… how?" Margaret whispered.
"Foolish wench!" Maia said in joy. "This room is a giant piece of technology. Every single time you all fired Eco, the room absorbed it and sent it to the robot. With the collective powers of four Sages, three Channelers and Gravis, the robot now has enough power to move. Let it be known that it is your fault that we can now open the Silos." The two Sages laughed insanely as they flew into the robot and closed the compartment above the eye. Jak stared hopelessly as the robot fired up and a massive door opened in the Citadel. Jak continued to watch in a sort of stupefied gaze as rockets on its feet powered up and it took off.
"Jak! Do something!" Margaret shouted, but for once, Jak was at a loss for what to do. He had failed. Despite his best efforts, in spite of actually wounding Gravis, even though he had fought valiantly and gallantly, he had failed to prevent Gol and Maia from activating the Precursor Robot. He had even helped them. However, just as he was about to lose himself in despair, Keira's face shimmered in his mind. He heard her speak as clearly as if she was standing right next to him.
"Don't give up Jak. I know you can beat them!" Jak pulled himself back; why should he despair now when everything was on the line. He might not have been able to prevent Gol and Maia from activating the Precursor Robot, but that didn't mean he had to let them just open the Silos without a struggle. He could still fight them. If he couldn't beat the Robot, then maybe he could stall Gol and Maia long enough so the Sages could awaken and find a way to shut it down.
"Keira, there you are." Hatu called out as the mechanic finally linked up with her team. She was surprised to see a couple scores of individuals behind them and looked at Kumiro questioningly.
"What can I say. Once people learnt what Gol was planning to do, the idea of a revolt was quite popular." he said, shrugging. Keira grinned at him as the entire town, most of them regular citizens armed with only what they could find. Keira loaded her Eco Saber into the launcher in her right glove before turning around and preparing for what she hoped would be the final battle.
"We are nearing the battle my king." A voice hissed in the shadows as the group continued their journey underground north.
"What is their location?" The addressed figure inquired.
"One half a mile away from the Dark One's Citadel." Another figure said in a clear voice.
"Are you sure about this Escuro? You used to serve him after all." A female asked. At least, it sounded like a female; in the lack of light it was impossible to tell exactly what the gender of the creature that spoke was, if it even had a gender.
"I am sorry. I cannot help you if it means helping him. He cheated me. He promised me life after death and only suspended me in limbo. I want to finally be able to do some good in the world with this horrible curse," Escuro said as she marched with the rest of the group.
Jak took off to the top of the Citadel and was surprised but pleased to find Eco Vents: all four of them. He stood in each one, refueling for the difficult task he had at hand. At the Yellow Eco Vent, Jak charged up two Eco Blades, both of them six feet long. Jak saw a floating disk made out of Precursor metal and stepped on it. It began heading for the Silos at a rapid pace. Jak looked grimly at his foe, knowing what even the tiniest slip-up would mean. A certain weight on his shoulder made Jak realize that he wasn't alone.
As Jak looked at his friend, Daxter held up his hand. "Jak, before you say anything, let me get this out. You've been preparing for this for a couple of months now. I'm gonna be right in there with ya. I won't leave you now. We're gonna take this thing down together."
Jak nodded, that last word sounding so sweet.
"Together," Jak thought. "I'm not alone." Daxter was right. They had come to far as one to be separated now. Whatever that thing threw at him, he and Daxter would face it.
Together.
Well, two more chapters to go. Hopefully, I will have 29 up Sunday afternoon/evening and the final one up by Monday.
My Top Five Favorite Fanfictions. (They are listed alphabetically, not by preference.)
1. Surge by Amathist Fwirrel
2. The Jak and Daxter Prank War by animedragongirl
3. The Sage's Legacy by Light-Eco-Sage
4. There was Light and Darkness by Keeroshu
5. War of the Ancients by Red Mage 04
Quote of the week- Debra Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Debra: Yea, those are the seven little words everyone wants to hear: "I love you. There I said it."