As usual, here are the responses to the reviews you all so kindly gave me, in case there was an emailing error and you did not receive them.

Keeroshu- Glad I did a good job with Cara: was nervous I wouldn't make he personality to your liking, which is why I never ventured into her past. Yup, I put ion a few more plot twists, and I don't think you will be able to guess who the spy is. Sorry that my rule of life applied to your day, and I hope that my chapter brightened it up slightly.

SilverEyes18- Thanks for the compliment. I appreciate you taking the time out your day to reads this. Thank GoodMorningBeautiful2005 for me for recommending this, and I'm glad that you found it pleasing. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with your standards and continue to please.

Silver-WindScar- No matter what people say, Rule #4 is true. Glad you liked it. Thanks for the compliment on the chapter. Well, Gol isn't so much as IN Jak's head as that he is much more in tune with it. For example, he used to have to concentrate really hard to read Jak's mind or get a sense of his emotions if he wasn't very close, but since he nearly possessed Jak, he has easier access to Jak's thoughts and feelings. Jak can shut him out of he wants, but the dangerous part is that he doesn't know that Gol has this trick. Congrats on Chapter 3, and I hope that chapter 4 is even half as good.

CrazyOttsel- Sorry to hear you got, "The Plague." Sorry the love scene was off: I'll try to fix them up. Glad you like the suspense, so I'll try to put in a little more at the end of the chapter.

animedragongirl- Ack. Thanks for pointing out that the scene with the priest and Daxter seemed out of place. I was trying to show that while Daxter is a pain in the rear end, he is knowledgeable about things other than alcohol and the female anatomy. (Sigh) Obviously I failed. Hopefully the next chapter will contain no mistakes, since I hate making them as much as you hate reading them.

P.S: I hate geometry too :P.

Red Mage 04- Yes, Gravis is now dead. Wow, what a freaking tragedy. I do have an inquiry: did it seem unnatural that Sett was, you know, okay with Gravis at the end. Yup, Gol is once again making a mistake, one that will backfire on him as you skillfully predicted and will cause him no end of suffering. Thank you once again for the fight scene compliment, and don't worry: things have been hectic over here too. I'm going to have to type the entire chapter up on Saturday and Sunday, so I'm a little apprehensive as to what the already mediocre quality will be reduced to.

Disclaimer- I don't own Jak and Daxter… (wishes I did)

Gol Exposed

"Steady the ship you dogs!" Cara shouted as the ship she was in rocked. Her crew hastened to obey her commands, each fearing to be the one that would receive the lash of her tongue if they did not obey. As the ship steadied out, Cara gazed with a certain pride and satisfaction on her crew. True, they often got carried away and were clumsy, but they were good men, and good sailors. None of them grumbled about taking orders from a woman, and all of them obeyed her orders to the letter as quickly as physically able. The only time they ever did anything stupid was when they consumed alcohol; despite being sailors, none of her sailors could "hold their liquor." Cara would have liked to show them a little more affection, but she would not risk exposing herself to another. Not again. Not after what happened to her the last time she opened her heart fully to someone.

"Captain, we're comin' up on the village," her first mate said as he stood in salute.

"Good Veston," Cara said, nodding at him. Veston inclined his head and began to walk over to the crew to assist in docking the ship. "Veston. Come back here," Cara called. Her first mate turned around and returned as instructed. "Pass on the appearances of the elves we are aiming for and remind them not to kill any one."

"Er, Captain?" Veston said hesitantly.

"Yes?" Cara sighed: she had been up for three nights now and it was finally starting to show on her.

"What are the profiles of the elves we are attempting to abduct?"

"We are trying to capture a girl named Lauren and a boy named Bryan. Lauren is fourteen years old. She has blond hair that goes down to her lower back, blue-green eyes, and usually wears black pants, dark blue shirt and a metal claw with a crystal earrings and necklace. Bryan is seventeen years old, and has short spiky blondish-brown hair. He has blue eyes and a tattoo on his right shoulder of a Lurker Scorpion." Veston nodded and went to relay the messages as instructed.

Cara sighed and gazed ahead at the unsuspecting town they were rapidly approaching. Though she was only seventeen, Cara felt much older. She had seen more death and horrors in her life than most warriors of the "ground lovers," as they were called by the people of her village. Cara closed her eyes and tried to forget the wound in her heart that was still so fresh. Images of the man she had once loved came to her vision, covered in blood and still holding his sword. She opened her eyes and shook her head. She was unable to let go of her fiancée's death for a very simple reason: no one in her village had ever seen anything like it before. He had been found mangled and bloodied as though attacked by an animal. Burn marks and scars riddled his body, and they first three that had attempted to move him had been shocked with odd purple electricity that had destroyed their ability to move their hands. Cara knew that her fiancée's death was somehow connected to her mother's sudden illness, for not two days had passed after her soon-to-be-husband's death when her mother had taken ill. It had started with the paling of her skin. Eventually, her mother had been unable to move. Finally, the sinister disease had dealt its final blow: her mother was unconscious and, unless she woke up soon, would die of malnutrition.

As the ship approached the dock in Sandover, Cara went down and helped her men bring it in. Though she was captain, and therefore not required to subject herself to such menial tasks, she always worked as hard as her men, outperforming some of them. However, that was one of the reasons that her mother had been having such a hard time getting her another husband. Though marriages were arranged on her island, Cara trusted her mother's judgment, for the last person she had suggested (not forced) to Cara had captured her heart. Sadly, he was in the minority. As was traditional, women were not exactly subservient to men, but the man would always have the ultimate say, at least publicly. Cara refused to submit to any man, and many males found her determination, not to mention her physical strength in itself, rather deterring.

As her thoughts turned to her mother, Cara's body worked on its own: she had docked her ship so many times that she no longer needed to pay attention mentally to do it anymore. Cara worried about the political stability of her home. Physical strength was very appealing to the people in a leader. With her mother incapacitated and the rise of the new candidate, Nicolae, Cara wondered if the people might not rise up and force the man on the throne. Though he claimed to be a pacifist and a man of peace, Cara saw something in his eyes that she neither liked nor trusted. They were full of deceit and, whenever Cara caught him looking at her, shameless lust. The worst part was that he had already asked for her hand in marriage and, though Cara absolutely refused, it was quite within her mother's power to force a wedding. Normally, Cara would not have had to worry, but Nicolae seemed to have charmed his way into her mother's heart and had been able o get a few favors before her sudden lay up. One rule was the law saying that outsiders that were deemed a threat could be killed without warning, spoken like a true pacifist, Cara commented to herself.

Silently, the pirates began to climb off the ship and approach the town, nearly invisible due to the setting of the moon and the not yet risen sun.

Jak tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. He body ached as he sat up, covered in sweat from the agonizing heat. He tossed the covers off, making sure they went to the left, since Daxter's bed was on the right of his and Jak had no wish to wake his friend up. Jak remained lying down, letting the cool autumn air cooled his body off slightly. Jak closed his eyes and Keira's smiling face appeared, tormenting him. Jak knew that it was no good denying it any longer: he missed Keira. Not only her voice and presence, though he missed those terribly, Jak missed her physical touch. Whenever he held her, or whenever she leaned on him, a burst of pride and delight swept through his body. Now that he was separated from her at night for the first time since their kiss, Jak felt his desire escalate to a need.

Jak stood up and paced the room, trying to calm himself down. After a minute or so, Jak decided that some fresh air might do him some good. Jak stepped outside and sat down with his legs crossed. He closed his eyes and tried to picture his surroundings. Samos had taught him this type of meditation and now Jak was truly thankful he had paid attention. His heart slowed and his breathing steadied as Jak focused on the silence of the night, broken only very occasionally by the occasional chirp of a bird or cricket. Jak opened his eyes, which were now calm and sedated. As he got up and headed back inside to go to sleep, a shadow caught his eyes. Jak squinted over at the edge of town, where a rather large ship was docked. Though he could not be completely sure, Jak swore he saw people coming off of it. He pulled his goggles down and zoomed in on the scene. Sure enough, Jak saw a good twenty or thirty people approaching the village, metal weapons gleaming in the failing light.

Jak thought of attacking them and defending the village, but practicality told him to alert the villagers. The more people that knew about the threat, the easier it would be to defeat it. Jak climbed the small mountain sticking out of the ocean and strained to ring the bell. Cursing himself for forgetting to charge up his Blue Eco Box, Jak wondered whose bright idea it was to put the bell that would signal the village at the top of a thirty foot rock surrounded by ocean. At last Jak's hand found the rope and he pulled…

Only to have it come off in his arm. Jak stared at the rope in disbelief for a second before an idea formed in his head. Jak wrapped the rope around his hand and began pounding on the bell with his hand. A small sound began, but it gradually increased in volume as Jak continued hitting the bell. As lights went on and people came out of their huts, Jak continued ringing the gong, hitting it even harder to awaken the people faster. All of a sudden, pain erupted in the middle of his back. The entire left side of Jak's body instantly went limp as he lost his grip on the rock and fell towards the ocean. Jak reached into his back and felt a hard metal object sticking out. He grabbed it and hissed in pain as a chunk of his flesh was literally torn out. Jak impacted the rock and began rolling towards the ocean. He tried to stop, but to no avail: his entire body was paralyzed for some reason. Blood pored freely from the wound in his back and Jak felt dizzy even as he hit the ice cold water. He looked up at the sky as his vision darkened from sinking. Water flooded his lungs as Jak tried to breath. A feeling surged back into his right arm and Jak clutched at a piece of rock. As the salt water stung the open wound in his back, Jak began heaving himself up the side of the mountain face.

"Veston! Why did you kill him?" Cara hissed. She had given all her men instructions not to kill anyone and Veston, her first mate and her most obedient sailor, had been the first to disobey her.

"Because Captain, as it is we'll have a hard time finding the targets. Moreover, trust me, that elf was a fighter. He would have caused us some trouble had he been allowed to live. Plus, didn't Gol say that if we were to come across a green and yellow haired elf that we could and should kill him?" Cara nodded, seeing the pieces fall into place. "Well, before I threw the knife, I caught a glimpse of yellow hair with green roots."

"Okay. Sorry for being a bit short with you," Cara said, her cheeks flushing almost imperceptibly at having to apologize.

"It's okay Captain. I'd've reacted the same way if it'd been me."

"Right. Men, lets get what we came for!" Cara shouted to the score and a half of men awaiting her command to attack. Roars met this announcement and the pirates overran the village. Cara and Veston split up while the men broke into houses for treasure and looking for the two elves they had come for. Cara headed for the large hut in the distance, thinking she might be able to find the mayor there and hold him for ransom. Veston, on the other hand, was lurking in the shadows and listening to people talk. While they spoke the same language and dialect as the people from the fishing village, Veston's accurate hearing noticed a slight accent change. He committed it to memory in case he ever needed to come back to this village. Highly unlikely, but it was always a possibility.

Veston moved on to searching through houses after hearing everything he needed. The only significant changes were aunt and pajamas. Veston's people said, "Aunt," so it rhymed with, "want," and pronounced the second syllable in pajamas so it rhymed with, "job." These people of Sandover rhymed, "aunt," like "ant," and rhymed "pajamas," with "jam."

The first four houses Veston rummaged around in produced nothing. He went outside and was pleased to see that the men had not gotten carried away. Though he saw many unconscious villagers, Veston had seen enough injuries in his twenty-two years to be assured that none of them was fatal.

"What exactly are we lookin' for again?" one of the men asked as he dragged a clay pot out of the Sculptor's house. Another man sighed as a third and fourth pirate re-explained the nature of the two elves. "Do you guys mean them two?" the man asked, pointing to a pair of teenagers. The half a dozen pirates looked up and saw that the profiles of the two elves matched the ones of Bryan and Lauren.

"Yup," one of them shouted as he ran at the couple. Bryan turned around and drew his katana for what felt like the thousandth time that night. So far, all he had encountered was single opponents who were easy enough to knock out with a quick hit to the back of the head.

The six men ran for the outnumbered elves when suddenly a wall of fire blocked their path. They looked around for the source and saw an elf about five and a half feet tall with yellow hair sticking straight up. The roots were a forest green, while his eyes shined a deep ocean blue. One hand was extended, fire flowing from it, while another was on a small red box on his belt.

"Jak!" Bryan and Lauren shouted at the same time. Jak stopped his attack and leapt into the air, using Blue Eco to cover the distance quickly. The pirates rushed towards Jak, believing that no elf could hold off half a dozen pirates, even if he could create fire. Little did they know that Jak had faced much worse odds than a mere half dozen. He motioned for Bryan and Lauren to leave and the two elves shook their heads. Jak stretched out using his Blue Eco Powers and sent them flying back to the village. He used the zoom function on his goggles to ensure that the two landed on the pile of Yakow leather. After being satisfied that he had not harmed his friends, Jak turned back to the pirates, who by this time had reached him, furious that he had been instrumental in allowing their prey to elude them. One of them drew his sword and swung down at Jak's head.

Needless to say, said elf was shocked when what appeared to be a sword made of Yellow Eco appeared above Jak and melted his blade. He looked in disbelief at Jak for a split second before Jak delivered a spinning back kick to the man's chest. Jak was impressed when the man got back up: Jak had not only hit him in the solerplexis, but had put enough force behind that kick to break a couple of ribs. These men might be trying to kidnap his friends, but Jak certainly had to give them credit. Not only were they physically strong and durable, but Jak had watched them carefully avoid causing any casualties. As the others drew their swords and advanced, Jak saw that they did not intend to be so courteous to him. He summoned another Eco Blade and quickly cut the razor sharp metal weapons coming at him. As they progressed towards him, this time armed with nothing more than fists, Jak leapt into the air and sent waves of weakened Yellow Eco at them. While normally such an attack would separate certain limbs from the body, all it did was cause some deep cuts. The pirates fell to the ground in pain as their muscles were cut and Jak quickly struck them all on the back of their skulls, causing them to be knocked out. He began to leave before he saw just how freely the wounds were bleeding. He wrestled with himself over the idea of healing and felt disgusted when he realized a small part of him wanted to leave these men here to die a horrible death. He shook his head and the sinister voice seemed to stop whispering in his ear. He extended his hand and a small blast of Green Eco surged forth, sealing the wounds and returning some of the color to the pirates' faces. Jak hurried off to find Keira: for all he knew, the pirates might be looking for her as well.

"Damn that Jak!" Bryan growled under his breath. He said nothing to Lauren, but the two of them were both more than a little angry that Jak had blasted them away to put them out of danger.

"I know what you mean," Lauren grumbled. "It's as though he thinks we can't take care of ourselves." Neither of them noticed a figure creeping up on them.

"It's not so much that he doesn't think you can't take care of yourselves," the man said. Bryan and Lauren whipped around, only to be tied up with fishing wire. Veston bent down to pick the two up. "He knows it was you we were looking for." Bryan and Lauren's eyes widened in confusion before Veston hit them on the back of their heads, causing their worlds to go dark.

"Captain, I have the targets," Veston said proudly as he deposited the heavy load in front of Cara. "Shall we give the retreat signal?"

"No need. I gave it already when I saw you capture the two. Six of our men were injured seriously, but it's the oddest thing. It's as though someone attacked them and then healed them. I've never heard if such a thing," Cara said as she shook her head. Veston nodded in agreement. The two watched their men separate the ship from the dock and take off for their homeland. "That scum better pay us," Cara muttered under her breath when she remembered what she'd had to do to get permission to go on this journey. She would have gone anyway, but it would help her mother's workload if she didn't discover when she woke up that her daughter was a law-breaker.

"Jak!" Keira shouted amidst the chaos. Jak spotted her with Daxter on her shoulder and made his way through the throng. He embraced her when he reached her, but broke off when he heard Daxter whistle suggestively. He looked at his mutated friend and blushed slightly: he was still a little embarrassed when he was with Keira and Daxter was around. He looked down at Keira and received a shock. Tears were flooding her eyes and she was grabbing him as hard as she could. Jak felt his arm go numb as her fingernails dug into his skin. "They've taken Bryan and Lauren!" she sobbed. Jak swore mentally: even after he had tried to get them away, one of those blasted pirates had still managed to get them. "What are we gonna do?" Keira asked as she tried to calm down. Jak held her close to him to try to calm the nearly hysterical girl, but he honestly had no idea what to do.

"We're gonna go after them, aren't we?" Daxter asked. Keira stopped crying and looked over at him.

"And how to you propose we do that?" she snapped.

Daxter, who normally flinched or ran away of Keira looked at him or talked to him that way, merely looked her in the face and said, quite quietly, "The Apprehender. Ollie started building it when we left. It's a faster ship than his fishing boat, and it's bigger too. I'm sure he'll loan it to us. And if he doesn't, well, let's just say I happened to find a pair of keys." Daxter said as he procured a key from seemingly nowhere. Jak looked at his friend before grabbing him and kissing him. "ACK! Jak! Ew man," Daxter said as he gasped and sputtered. Jak grinned at him. "Next time you want to display affection, get a girl to do it for you," Daxter said as he gagged. Keira grabbed him from Jak and gave the rat a bone crushing hug. Daxter began squirming in protest before realizing where he was. He smirked and allowed Keira to continue hugging him. Jak noticed the smirk and tapped Keira on the shoulder. She looked at him and he pointed down at Daxter. After figuring out what the perverted rat was doing, Keira began hugging him tighter.

"Hey, Keira. I can't breathe," Daxter gasped as his spine began to bend uncomfortably backwards. Keira dropped him on the floor and Jak picked him up.

"Perv," Keira muttered as she walked off. Daxter flashed a cheeky grin at Jak, who rolled his eyes and walked after Keira.

"Sheesh, looks like no one around here can take a joke," Daxter muttered to himself.

Jak put the keys in the ignition and deposited thirty Power Cells into the engine upon reaching The Apprehender. As the motor started up, Jak saw Margaret running towards them.

"Hey guys, were you just gonna leave without me?" Margaret called. Keira appeared by the window and waved.

"Hey Mar! No, we don't want to, but we're gonna go get Bryan and Lauren back. We need you to stay here in case Gol attacks," Keira shouted back. Margaret's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but she nodded and started back to the shelter in Sandover.

No one noticed the small creature climbing aboard the ship in a cloak.

"Why?" Lauren whispered in the dank room.

"Hm?" Bryan said as he gave up looking through the window.

"Why is everyone after us?" Lauren asked. "First the Lurker tried to kidnap us, and now this. If I didn't know better, I'd say Gol is trying to get us."

"I know what you mean, but I don't know why, unless we're being used as ransom."

"That's probably it. But what I don't get is why-" Lauren was cut off by the door being smashed open. The foul smell of alcohol reached Bryan's nostrils as he stood up. Three burly men stumbled in with tankards of ale. Two went up to Bryan and offered, but Bryan politely declined. If the crew got drunk enough, he and Lauren might be able to get away. The third one sat down next to Lauren.

"Hey baby," he slurred, swaying slightly. Lauren looked at him, trying not to throw up from the overbearing smell. "How 'bout a little kiss," he said as he bent forward. Lauren screamed when she felt his hand on her chest. Bryan looked over at her and immediately stood up, fully intending to cut the throat of the man advancing on Lauren. Two powerful arms pinned his behind his back as one of the men behind him grabbed him. The other one stumbled over to Lauren and held her while his partner resumed groping her.

Bryan saw red fill his vision as one of the men ripped her shirt off, leaving her in only a tank top. He brought his head forward before smashing it back. The man behind him discovered what it would feel like to be hit in the face with a thirteen pound bowling ball as he released Bryan. Bryan landed on the floor and drew his katana. He threw it at the man bent on ripping the tank top and Lauren screamed when blood covered her body as the blade pierced her would-be rapist's heart. Bryan dashed forward and the oaf holding Lauren had barely released her when the razor-sharp sword cut through his neck and decapitated him. Bryan turned back towards the remaining pirate and saw the man draw his sword. The drunken man made a sloppy move and Bryan hacked his arm off before disposing of him much in the same way that he had the previous one.

Bryan sheathed his blood covered sword and turned to face Lauren. He discovered upon inspection that other than fainting, she seemed unharmed. Five more men burst into the room and, upon seeing the carnage, roared and ran at Bryan. The adolescent drew his sword again and adopted a defensive stance.

"STOP!" A sharp female voice roared. The men stopped instantly. Bryan was so shocked at their obedience that he, too, stopped his attack. Cara walked into the room, a sword drawn. "You," she barked at her men, "upstairs. Now!" The men scrambled for the broken door, fighting each other to get out first.

"And you," Cara said as she turned around. "I am sorry. Some of my men forget their vow to be honorable. I believe that those three," she said as she pointed to the three corpses, "got exactly what they deserved. I have a shower in my room. I would like it if you two came with me and cleaned yourselves up." Bryan was slightly taken aback at the kindness coming from the harsh captain.

"Jak, please calm down," Keira said as she watched Jak walk back and forth for the umpteenth time. She was sure that if he kept this up he would begin to sink into a depression caused by his marching. He appeared not to hear her and so Keira got up from the bench she was sitting in and grabbed him by the shoulder. He spun around and relaxed at seeing who it was. He sighed and looked to the sea. Keira gazed with him, watching the ship they were chasing slowly get larger. Jak looked at Keira and shyly held her hand. Keira giggled to herself: the boy she loved could be so passionate at some times and so very shy the next. Keira looked up at him and they stared into each other's eyes. Jak began writing in her hand once again.

"I'm sorry," Keira said out loud. She looked up at him.

"What do you have to be sorry about?"

"I sent… Bryan and… Lauren… away and into… the hands… of the enemy." Keira looked up at him and shook her head.

"You dork. You didn't know that a pirate would be there."

"But it's my… fault. I… don't get why… you are… sticking… with me."

"Because Jak. I'm your friend," Keira said, looking him right in the eyes.

"You still… like me?"

"Of course," Keira said as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "And I always have," she continued, kissing his other cheek. "And I always will," she said as she gave him a quick peck on the nose. "No matter what," she said as she finished by kissing him on the lips. Jak pulled her closer to him gently as Keira wrapped her arms around her.

Keira smiled to herself as Jak pulled her closer to him. His body seemed to cover hers while never being intrusive. Keira removed her lips from his and leaned against his chest as Jak rocked back and forth slightly.

The two teenagers continued to draw stability and strength from each other, grateful that they were allowed to have each other in times of crisis.

"So, Cara is it?" Bryan asked as he laid Lauren down on the bed. After showering, he had run her under water to get the blood out of her hair. "Why did you stop your men from attacking."

"You did not deserve to be killed, nor your girlfriend raped."

"What?"

"I believe in honor. And honesty. And in looking out for others as well as one's self."

"Then release us," Bryan protested.

"I cannot do that. I have to bring you to my village where I will give you to someone."

"Who?" Bryan asked, thinking that he saw where this was going.

"Some man named Gol Akaron."

"GOL! YOU'RE WORKING WITH HIM?" Bryan roared as he drew his sword. In an instant Cara had drawn hers and kicked Bryan in the chest. As he bent over, she struck the back of his head and knocked him out.

"So. He has business with Gol does he?" Cara mused to herself as three pirates entered. "Lock them away. And if I see or hear that they are disturbed, you will all pay for it, and not in gold." Cara growled menacingly.

"Be careful Jak," Keira whispered as Jak began climbing up the side of the pirate ship. He looked down at her and gave her a thumbs up before extending his hand. Keira grabbed it and Jak hoisted her off the Apprehender and onto the pirate ship. The two of them got onto the deck and looked around for any clue that might lead them to the whereabouts of Bryan and Lauren.

Jak shoved Keira to the side as a knife landed exactly where her foot would have been had she continued walking. He gestured for her to go looking for Bryan and Lauren and the knife thrower landed and bolted towards her. Jak erected a firewall and cut off the man's route. As his hood was thrown back, Veston recognized Jak as the one whom he had hit in the back with a knife.

"You," he stammered, for once at a loss of words. Jak looked at him curiously. "I… killed you," Veston said disbelievingly.

"Yeah well, you didn't do a good enough job!" Daxter said as he looked at the pirate. Jak understood: it was this man that had hit him in the back with a knife before as he was sounding the alarm. Jak summoned a Yellow Eco Blade and adopted an offensive stance. Veston looked slightly surprised, but not scared. Jak noticed this and instantly changed to a defensive posture. Veston smirked as two beams of light shot out of his hands, one yellow and one red. Jak's eyes widened: he had met another Channeler. The two of them circled each other, knowing that one slip-up could resolve in the loss of a limb.

Jak watched Veston tense up and he leapt at the same time as the Blade Channeler. He blocked an incoming strike as his opponent spun around and attacked with his back turned. Jak tried to end the fight with a blow to the head but Veston apparently knew it was coming, as the red Blade blocking Jak's strike testified. Veston crossed his arms as he lashed out yet again at Jak and was surprised at the speed with which the Channeler blocked and countered. Jak ducked and back flipped as Veston spun around and made a double strike at the same time. He rushed back in with an overhead chop and the two of them swung their Blades so fast that afterimages were left behind, making it harder to tell the difference between Jak's Yellow Eco Blade and Veston's.

Veston rushed in with another double strike and Jak jumped over him. Veston followed Jak with his eye and rushed in. Jak did a split in the air to keep his legs and punched Veston as he landed. As he staggered back, Veston held out his Red Eco Blade and a blast of flames came out the end. Jak dodged to the side, watching the flames as they went past. Veston turned both of his swords off, put his hands into palm heels, and inverted them so the palms were facing up. He rushed in and brought his hands into his own chest. He reached Jak and struck, slamming the dark Channeler in the ribs, and probably breaking a few of them in the process. Jak slammed backwards into the mast and dented it slightly. Veston re-summoned his Eco Blades and began walking slowly towards Jak, his hair and clothes blowing around in the wind.

Jak got to his feet and continued fighting to buy Keira as much time as he could. Veston stopped his assault as he watched Jak back off and shot a beam of Yellow Eco out of his Blade. Jak dodged to the side, his face turning to watch the blast. Veston went rushing in, eager to take advantage of his opponent's apparent weakness and received a swift kick to the chest. Jak knocked away both Veston's Blades with one strike and a slash, but Veston simply jumped over Jak with a flip and some twirls. Veston landed in a combat stance and ran in, holding his Yellow Eco Blade knife-style. He charged and attempted to sheer Jak in half with the yellow Blade, but did not succeed. As he ran past Jak he swung the Red Eco Blade backwards and glared 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.

Veston stopped spinning and jumped forward, planting both his feet into Jak's chest. As Veston ran forward to repeat the move, Jak suspended him in the air with Blue Eco and threw him into a wall. Veston struggled to his feet and Jak slammed him into the ground harder. Jak raised his sword over Veston's neck as the urge to kill once again came over him. Jak called back his sword as he lowered it, once again horrified at how close he had come to taking an elf's life. It had been harder to stop the impulse to kill his opponent.

"Jak! I found them," Keira shouted as Bryan and Lauren emerged. As the four quickly tried to get off the boat, a sword was thrown into the deck. Jak turned around, saw a girl with green eyes, and braided red hair marching towards them.

"I cannot let you take them. I need those two," Cara said as she drew a sword. Jak threw a Yellow Eco scythe at the sword, intending to cut through it and discourage the captain, but the scythe stopped in midair a few inches away from the girl. Cara narrowed her eyes slightly and Jak ducked as his own scythe was sent hurtling back at him.

"You… you're a Channeler!" Keira gasped in surprise.

"Of course. My mother was the most powerful Coordinating Channeler in the history of Brigand's Bastion. As her daughter, I inherited the gift." Jak summoned an Eco Blade and began to advance, but Cara raised her hand and the Eco constructing Jak's weapon harmlessly dispersed. Jak realized that he would have to go up against Cara with a sword unarmed. He adopted a defensive stance and waited for the Coordinator to make a move. As the captain rushed in, Keira stepped between the two.

"Wait! There has to be another way to solve this," she pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but I need Bryan and Lauren." Cara said.

"But why?" Lauren shouted, tired of not understanding what was going on.

"Gol has promised to heal my mother," Cara said quietly. Jak looked at her, the pieces finally falling into place. Gol had poisoned her mother and then promised the cure (most likely death) in return for Cara doing Gol's dirty work. Keira walked over to the distressed girl and sat down. Cara followed and listened to the tale of what Gol had done.

"By the Precursors…" Cara whispered when the group had finished their tale. "I let him trick me," she said in disbelief. Keira patted her on the shoulder consolingly and Cara stood up. "We will return to my island with Bryan and Lauren in tow." Jak got up at these words, but stopped when he heard Cara's next words. "I'm gonna give Gol exactly what he deserves. Here's the plan. You guys hide and I'll pretend to present him Lauren and Bryan all tied up. Then we take him by surprise and kick his sorry ass from here back to the Silos." Jak grinned as he punched one hand with his fist, eager to punish Gol for all he had done.

"So, they are going to ambush me," Gol muttered.

"What is it brother?" Maia asked, pausing in her meditation.

"Cara and the others are laying a trap for me at Brigand's Bastion. Well, I'm afraid that they will have a rather nasty surprise when they arrive…" Gol said with a sinister chuckle.

"There's my island," Cara said proudly. Everyone's gasp caused a sinking feeling to enter her heart. She turned around and gasped in horror at the horrible scene that lay before her eyes…

Hey. I just couldn't resist throwing in one cliffhanger, although I'm sure all of you can guess what happened. Hope this is good. I had only two days to do it, so please don't berate me for the quality. Unless I sincerely deserve it. And I also apologize for updating so late at night, since the majority of my day was spent going to my grandparents' house, and then my great aunts' house and then my house and tunnel a path through the snow. Depending on where you live, hope you enjoy the blizzard. I know I am. NO SCHOOL! If you didn't get it, I hope the weather is to your liking. Thanks again for reading this horrible drek, and I thank everyone for their generous reviews. See you all next week.

My Favorite Authors (They are listed alphabetically, not by preference.)

1. Amathist Fwirrel

2. animedragongirl

3. Keeroshu

4. Light-Eco-Sage

5. Red Mage 04

6. Silver-WindScar

Quote of the week- Me

Me: Rule #5 of Life: When Life hands you a shove, don't do three things. First, do not dig any deeper. Second, don't dig a hole for anyone else. And thirdly, if you see someone else in as hole, help them out. Even if it means digging towards them a little bit.