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.
PirateElfKastel- I thank you for reading all that I have written so far. I know how long reading long works can take, so I appreciate the time you took out of your day to read this story. I hope that I can continue to please. If you want to see them kiss, you will indeed get your wish, somewhere in the realm of Chapter 34. Thanks for the lollipop, and I'll provide another chapter come Saturday or Sunday. That being said, if you like this, then I suggest you look up Red Mage 04's finished work, Risen Demon, and its sequel, War of the Ancients.
Red Mage 04- I sympathize with you my friend. School: it must be stopped. Actually, I did play Wind Waker, which wasn't as good as Ocarina of Time. To be honest though, I never thought of them for the pirates. That is the main reason that the pirates tried to force themselves on a woman, something that if they put in an anime game, somebody would be killed. The main reason I did this was to show that there are civilizations other than the ones on the main continent. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope to see an update for War of the Ancients real soon. Thank you for the compliment on the title, but the real credit goes to you. You were the first one who put Latin expressions as the chapter name. I was going to call it "On the Verge of Death." Then I wanted to put it in Latin to see of it would flow better, but I couldn't find it and then I asked a Latin teacher and she told me. I'll shut up about my uninteresting life. Yup, the quote is true, and hopefully, people will remember it. Yes… only one Dark Sage left. Gol? His reaction? Hmm… I'm sure I'll think of something. Glad your going to write chapter nineteen. Oh, and thank you for the point out- I'll take care of that right away.
Silver-WindScar- Thank you for the compliment. Yup, Maia was defeated at last. I like that rule, and it will become Rule #7. To be honest, I have up to twenty, but since yours is related to marriage, I'll put it in right after. Ooh, Marionists. I am so sick of them, mostly because I see them about five times a week, provided of course your referring to the ones that are part of the Catholic Church. You are entitled to one Blonde Moment a week (checks off a list entitled Week Three of February 2006).
GoodMorningBeautiful2005- Thanks for the chapter compliment. Yup, Maia was finally bested in battle, and just wait until you see the twist I put on this. Sings along with you as I look for Double Trouble chapter.
Keeroshu- Yup, this chapter was just one big fight fest. I have two days off every week: Saturday and Sunday (lame, I know). Admittedly, I've turn out worse chapter coughGreenEcoTemplecough but I know I can do better. Thanks, good luck yourself.
animedragongirl- Damn it, I thought it was swabbed. Well, thanks for letting me know, that way I don't make the same mistake twice. Sheesh, I just seem to throw in all kinds of crap that screws around with my chapter. Again, I'm glad that you take the time out of your life to point these mistakes out. To be honest, I never thought of the gun arm that way. Thanks very much for your input on the subject.
CrazyOttsel- You're not alone in this view: I did make numerous mistakes, and for that apologize. As to the passage you were referring to, this is what happened. Benedict shot a big blast that plowed through a table (which I forgot to mention) and he had aimed it slightly to the side so that when Maia dodged, it would still hit her slightly in the face. You are in no way a moron, and I hope that the next chapter will be better. Thanks for not giving up on me, since you are an enormous help when it comes to pointing things out that I really screwed up bows.
Amathist Fwirrel- Long time no see indeed. Thanks for the compliment on the ending, and yeah, getting hit by a bomb from less than an inch away can't feel very good. I like the rules of life, but for the third one you said, I think that Irish comedian Denis Leary says it a better way. "Life sucks, get an effin' helmet." I'll use the tolerance rule though, thanks very much for it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I take small comfort in the fact I can play the games whenever I please.
Home (Not So) Sweet Home
"My home…" Cara whispered as her and the others witnessed the carnage being wreaked upon her motherland. Lurkers had appeared and were overrunning the town. Through his goggles, Jak could see children crying in the streets before they were trampled. To his surprise, men and women alike were fighting the Lurkers. If they had no access to real weapons, the pirates were grabbing the closet thing available and using it with deadly efficiency. Jak watched with interest as a woman used a pair of metal gears as chakrams. As she threw one and decapitated a Lurker, she swung the other one at a closer Lurker and smashed it in its chest.
"Captain, we've…" Veston trailed off as he saw what the Lurkers were doing to his homeland. He began to growl under his breath, but decided not to say anything out of fear for being insubordinate.
"Veston…" Cara breathed, so shocked by this unexpected turn of events that she forgot about propriety and called her first mate by his name.
"Yes Captain," Veston, his mind whirling for a way to counter this threat.
"Rouse the men," the captain of the ship said weakly.
"Yes ma'am," Veston said, inclining his head. "All hands on deck, you filthy swabs!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Within sixty seconds, the entire crew had come up and knew what the Lurkers were doing to their island.
Nobody noticed Jak turn on his Blue Eco Box and walk slowly towards the edge of the ship. He turned to look at the island, fire burning in his eyes. He crouched down before preparing to spring off when suddenly arms grabbed him around his waist. Jak turned around, ready to fight, but his entire body relaxed when he saw it was Keira who had grabbed him.
"Where in the name of the Precursors do you think you're off to Jak?" Keira asked as she put her hands on her hips. Despite the situation, Jak was overcome by a nearly irresistible urge to smile at Keira's sudden resemblance to a mother. He fought the urge and gestured to Brigands Bastion, then at himself. Though he couldn't speak, Jak's meaning could not have been plainer.
"I was gong to fly there and fight the Lurkers."
"Oh no your not Jak. I know you want to, but you have to be patient," Keira said even as she remembered that patience had never been one of Jak's stronger attributes. Countless times he had gone crazy when they were younger playing hide-and-seek, eventually sitting down and pouting that he couldn't find everyone. And then when he was the hider, he would eventually wander out, looking for the person who was It. It was clear, even when he was young, that Jak preferred a good fight or race than standing around waiting any time.
"Honey, waiting has never been a strong point of Jak's," Daxter said, unconsciously repeating her thoughts. Keira rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored Daxter calling her "honey."
"Well then what are we supposed to do?" Bryan said loudly and aggressively. Now that he knew why he and Lauren were targets of Gol's (though he still didn't fully understand why), he was more than eager to jump at a chance to get back at the Dark Sage.
"Bryan and Jak are right," Lauren said as she stood up. She had sat down because the rocking of the boat had made her feel slightly nauseous, but as she stood up now, the rocking didn't even register to her brain. "We need to stop them before this town becomes another Auricle." Keira opened her mouth, but this was hard to argue with. Auricle had been a town situated on an island. One day, Lurkers had overrun the town, killed everyone, burned it to the ground and then somehow had managed to sink the remains of the island into the sea.
"I know what you both are saying, but we cannot rush into battle, Cara said quietly, but nevertheless getting everyone's attention. Everyone looked at her in astonishment, including Veston and her crew. They had all thought that as princess of the island and an inhabitant, Cara would be the one keenest to attack. "If we rush in right now, it might do more harm than good. We need a plan. We need a way to injure the majority of their army with one fell blow." Everyone went silent, trying to think of a plan that might work.
"I got an idea," Daxter shouted after a few seconds of silence. Cara rolled her eyes but decided to listen: from what she had seen and heard, Daxter was the idiot of the group. "Why don't we hook all the explosives you guys have to the front of the ship and send it into the town."
"Daxter what kind of plan is that?" Keira asked. "All we'll do is-"
"Deal a great blow to the enemy," Veston interrupted. Everyone looked at him in surprise and he pulled a map of the town out of his pocket. "Look," he said as he pointed to a spot on the map. "That's the town ammunition supply. If we send the ship in there, it'll level a quarter of the island, but if we can concentrate the Lurkers there and evacuate most of the villagers, then it will work. All we have to do is get a few people to rig all the gunpowder to the bow of the ship and get a few others to draw the Lurkers in that one spot." Silence finished this pronouncement before Daxter raised an eyebrow at Keira.
"What was that you were sayin' sweetheart?" he asked in a cheeky voice. Keira blushed at being proven wrong but composed herself and began thinking out loud.
"All right, then if we're using Daxter's plan, we need to decide who does what. Jak and I will go ashore: he can fly me there since we're highest on Gol's hit list. The rest of you can stay here and ready the ship. It is okay that we use this ship, isn't it Cara," Keira asked, knowing how faithful one could become to a boat.
"I can think of no higher honor for my ship than being used as a weapon to defeat the Lurkers," Cara articulated as she stood tall again. "But Veston and I will accompany you. Lurkers seem to always go for the biggest threat first, and we'll add incentive to them to chase us if they realize that w are Channelers. And in case this plan falls through and we don't blow up the ammunition stock, it'll be a good thing to have all your best fighters on the shore." Keira nodded, before a thought occurred to her.
"Wait, how can Jak carry three of us?" Everyone fell silent again as they tried to figure out how one elf (despite being a Channeler) could carry three people one mile.
"I got it!" Daxter shouted. Everyone turned to face him once again. Keira wondered what Daxter was thinking: his last idea had been good, so she was curious as to whether he was clamoring for attention or if he really had another good idea. "Why don't we get a small boat and Jak can pull it in the air while the others can help us." Another stunned silence resonated through the ship after this second declaration. The crew was thinking that Daxter was the brains of the trio, whereas Keira was realizing that she wouldn't be able to truthfully tease Daxter about not being smart. He might have nearly failed in school, but she was beginning to see the extent of his wit.
"All right, I have the perfect lifeboat," Veston said as he stood up again. He pointed his finger at three pirates, who immediately went with him to release a lifeboat and lower it until it was hovering above the surface of the sea. Jak held Keira in his arms as he leapt down, using his almost otherworldly grace to land softly in the boat. Veston and Cara got in after instructing the pirates what to do. Bryan and Lauren looked slightly disgruntled at having to be left behind, but both of them knew the foolishness of following them. What the four of them would be considered suicidal if three of them weren't Channelers. Their job was nothing less than to lure the Lurker army away from the rest of the town- and the best way to do that was to attack it and then retreat.
"Good luck!" the two elves shouted to Jak as he tied a rope around his waist. Jak grinned and waved as though he were merely going to school and would be back later to play. He turned on his Blue Eco Box and levitated his body into the air. He began to fly over to the island and the boat slowly began to move. He quickly picked up speed as Cara and Veston began to row. Though they were physically strong from years of sailing, Keira helped them immensely by providing them with spare Eco Belts that she carried in case Jak ran into an emergency. Cara took the Jak's old belt, while Veston used Benedict's. Keira prayed as she watched him strap it on and turn on the Red Eco Box that he did not follow in that belt's previous owner's footsteps.
"So Cara, why don't you like Gol?" Keira asked. She had noticed Cara's eyes flare up with loathing at the mention of the Dark Sage's name, but she didn't know why. As a matter of fact, Keira wondered how Gol knew that Cara's island existed, since all maps on Weyard showed only up to the Silo and down to Misty Island. A sudden suspicion of what else she might be ignorant of sprang into her mind.
"He killed my fiancée," Cara said shortly, her eyes hardening slightly. Though she tried to keep her voice flat, Keira could clearly detect the undercurrent of pain that underlined the sentence. "Or rather, he had him killed. I didn't want to believe it, but my fiancée was found mauled by something that utilized Dark Eco. I didn't want to think Gol had anything to do with it, but after seeing him attack the village, I know he did it. And he also poisoned my mother. He came to us a month ago and asked my mother to find you two," she said as she looked at Jak and Keira. "My mother refused. He seemed passive, but I could see the anger boiling just beneath the surface. Two days later, Nicolae suddenly has risen in power and my mother is getting sick."
"Nicolae?" Keira asked as she kept her hands on the rudder to make sure the small ship did not waver from its course due to the waves.
"He claims to be a pacifist, but he has ordered the instant death of any foreigner that we deem a threat. He also has asked for my hand in marriage. What I don't understand is how the people can follow such an obvious liar. He says that he is going to promote personal freedom, but I heard him discussing with his supervisors a plan to force people to get a tattoo in order to buy or sell." Keira looked outraged at such a ludicrous idea, which basically forced someone to get a tattoo in order to live. "He suggested that any who refused publicly would be beheaded." Veston's face remained impassive, as he had been with Cara at the time, but Jak and Keira were horrified at such persecution.
"What about you Veston?" Keira asked as Jak landed in the boat. The small boat had by this time pick up so much speed that Jak had been falling behind in the air. Cara gave her oar to Veston and sat next to him. She pulled out two more oars and began miming to him how to row. Jak quickly caught on and the conversation resumed as Veston took both oars and began rowing a row by himself as Cara and Jak aided him.
"What about me?" Veston replied with a smirk.
"Why don't you like Gol."
"Well, I never did like the look of him. Little bastard reeked of mutiny and betrayal. The main reason I didn't like him was because of Anthony."
"Who was Anthony?" Keira asked as she steered the boat slowly to the right. This would ensure the boat staying in shadows. They wanted to escape detection until the could make it on to the shore.
"Cara's fiancée. I liked him. He was a good man. When I heard of the way he died, I knew that if Dark Eco was involved, then Gol had to be connected. Dark Eco is much too rare on out island for any regular elf to come buy. Even the queen herself would be hard put to find enough to that much damage to Anthony."
"Wait a second. You guys actually sell Dark Eco?" Keira asked, shocked that any community would actually live off of it.
"Sort of. Whatever we find is never a lot, but we use the small amounts we have sometimes when we have to invade fortresses to the south. Since its so deadly, the only people that would want it are assassins. Dark Eco is important when it comes to battle, but not to our economy. We have yet to find someone who can use Dark Eco without killing himself. At first the queen asked for volunteers to find Channelers, but after wiping four out, she made it illegal to use Dark Eco in tests. Nicolae is trying to resserect her program and make it illegal not to. And I saw Nicolae speaking in private to Gol one night. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seems to me that Nicolae has promised to run the island in a system that Gol wants. Idiot is going to get himself killed if he doesn't watch out," Veston added under his breath.
Everyone fell silent as they got out of the boat. Keira showed Cara and Veston how to use the Eco Boxes fully as Jak checked the Eco Gauge on each of his. He was nearly out of Blue Eco, but he had fully Green and Red Eco, not to mention about eighty percent of his Yellow Eco. Cara returned her Eco Box to Keira, saying that she wouldn't be able to use it. As a Coordinator, she was unable to Channel. What her talents allowed her to do was manipulate Eco being sent out. She was capable of dispelling Eco Blades or redirecting Eco Beams with concentration. Jak had an idea and summoned a Yellow Eco Blade. He handed it to her, hoping that her powers would allow her to sustain the weapon even if she couldn't Channel it. To his delight, his plan worked. Cara shrunk the Eco Blade down to the size of a grapefruit and covered it as they made their way towards the town so that the light would no give them away. As they marched, Jak refilled his Blue Eco Box to the halfway mark by draining Cara's.
"All ready?" The second mate shouted. A resounding "Aye!" answered him in the cold. Everyone began to pour into lifeboats as the second mate disable the rudder gauge. This would force the ship to continue in a straight line to the ammunition store. He wondered briefly how big the explosion would be. Everyone knew that liquid Red and Yellow Eco was extremely volatile, but no one had ever intentionally detonated it before, so the results were as of yet enigmatic.
"That was quite a plan Daxter," said Keira as she walked beside Jak. The rat looked at her in astonishment, as though unable to believe his ears.
"What was that?" he said with a sly grin on his face. Keira smiled and rolled her eyes as Daxter began saying how he knew that she would recognize his brilliance one day.
"How'd you come up with that plan anyway?" Veston asked quietly.
"I just like blowing things up, and I figured you guys would have to have kind of explosives on board." Daxter said with a grin. Jak put his finger up to his lips as they came upon the army. He threw two Eco Grenades and as they exploded, he stood up and summoned two Eco Blades. The Lurkers immediately recognized Jak as the Bane of the Lurkers, but the other three didn't make an impression on the beasts. With a roar, the entire army came out and charged the quartet. The four elves immediately turned around and started running back to the warehouse.
As they finally reached the warehouse, Jak turned around and sent a massive blast of Yellow Eco at a house. The Lurkers that were caught in the blast were immediately vaporized, while the others near the house were impaled by debris and glass. Veston waited for Lurkers to surround him before summoning a Red Eco Blade and a Yellow Eco Blade. He spun rapidly on the spot, causing those near him to be swiftly cut down. Cara redirected the blast that Jak sent out, causing a small part of it to detach itself from the main blast. She aimed this beam at a group of Lurkers that were charging Jak. As the blast hit the ground, Jak leapt into the air, throwing fireballs at Lurkers. The Lurkers that survived the blast were knocked to the ground and swiftly disposed of by Jak and Veston.
Cara turned around and kicked a Lurker in its jaw before slicing it down the middle. As she turned around to see the army, she saw seven coming at her. Cara stretched her Blade out to a disk and threw it, directing it in the air. As it returned to her, Cara noticed Keira all alone and quite unprotected. Baffled that someone that did not have Channeling powers would come with them. As Lurkers snuck up and Keira, Cara began to shout a warning. She was distracted by a Lurker landing in front of her and slashing at her. Cara fell to the ground, her Eco Blade leaving her hand and dispersing. Cara leaned back and launched herself off the ground with her hands, landing in the chest of the Lurker Worm. As its chest caved in, Cara looked over at Keira again and saw the girl shooting an arrow with a golden tip at the incoming Lurkers. As it reached them, the shaft of wood exploded, causing small bits of Lurker flesh to rain from the sky.
Satisfied that the girl could take care of herself, Cara drew her sword and charged the Lurker army. She hacked off an arm of one before switching hands and stabbing another. The rest of the nearby Lurkers saw the potential danger of this elf and swarmed at her, hoping to overwhelm her. Jak saw this and tossed an Eco Grenade at her. Cara saw the attack coming and pulled it towards her, turning it into a disk. She kept the disk at her arm and used the Eco as a shield.
Cara continued her attack, using the razor sharpness of her sword to parry incoming attack and dealing fatal strikes while using her shield to its full capacity. She quickly discovered that the shield could burn the flesh off Lurkers easily and began swinging it when Lurkers tried to sneak up on her from behind. A crash made Cara turn around and she saw a Lurker Troll heading for. Cara threw her shield, flattening it out to a spear and aimed it for the Troll's eyes. Although their skin was resistant to all but the most devastating attacks, the eyes of Trolls were appropriately known as their "Achilles' heal." And fortunately, the Troll heading for her didn't think to close its eyes as the attack went right through its eye and disintegrating its brain. With a horrible scream, the Lurker dropped down to the ground and lesser Lurkers that weren't crushed by its body continued to stream at Cara. She quickly readied her sword and went back to hacking at the incoming enemies.
Jak noticed the ship getting nearer and realized that for the explosion to be the most effective, the Lurkers should be surrounding the warehouse. But in order for that to happen, Jak and the others would have to enter the ammunitions storage house. An idea suddenly occurred to Jak and he began fighting his way over to Keira. He quickly found her and relayed his message by drawing on her hand. Keira grinned wickedly and nodded. Jak went over to Cara while Keira went to find Veston. As he found her, Jak realized that to go near her would most likely result in the loss of a limb. He conjured up a Yellow Eco Blade and walked slowly towards her, killing any Lurkers that tried to harm him. As he reached her, Daxter shouted out and Jak swiftly blocked the metal weapon coming in at him. Cara backed off instantly when she saw who it was and Jak motioned for her to follow him. Cara nodded and the two proceeded to carve a path of destruction in Keira and Veston's direction.
"Ready Jak?" Keira said as she blew the door open. Jak nodded and helped Keira by lifting her up through the small hole she blew open. He sent Cara and Veston in before vaulting through, taking care not to scratch himself.
"So what are we doing in here?" Veston asked as Jak summoned a ball of flame so that the five could see. Keira relayed the plan and Veston looked back at Jak. "Are you out of your mind?" Jak grinned and shook his head. He sat down on the ground and motioned for the others to join him. One by one, the others knelt and got as close to Jak as possible. Jak closed his eyes and concentrated on listening for the boat. As he heard it approach, Jak turned his Green Eco Box and summoned a shield. He concentrated as he never had before on the shield. As the shield strengthened, the wall of Eco became almost solid, so strong was Jak's focus.
A massive explosion resounded as a fireball erupted around the shield. Flames shot up fifty feet in the air as the liquid Eco ignited and caused other vials to do the same. Jak felt the ground be ripped out from underneath him and closed his eyes tighter, not wanting to be distracted. As the noise died down and his Green Eco began to run low, Jak let the shield down and whistled. Everyone was lying at the bottom of a crater that had demolished everything within a hundred yards. Jak flew Keira up and to the end of the crater and then went back for Cara. As he landed, he noticed that Veston had already started off on his own and was quickly nearing the edge via his Blue Eco Box.
"You are insane," Cara said weakly as Jak landed. Jak grinned at her and wondered why Daxter hadn't said anything. He saw his friend on his shoulder and nudged him, getting no response. Jak realized that Daxter had fainted, and when he had, his muscles had locked so that he remained on Jak's shoulder. Jak smirked as Cara said they should go up to the castle.
"Why?" Keira asked.
"I want to check on my mother. And I have a bad feeling that Nicolae is up to something." Jak nodded: both of these reasons were good, so the group began to travel towards the castle. As they marched towards it, Jak could see how such a building might look kind and inviting, but in the current atmosphere, it looked threatening and foreboding.
"So, what's the plan?" Keira whispered as they entered the palace. She noticed that Lurkers were patrolling the halls, making it obvious who had called for the attack, and confirming Cara and Veston's suspicions that Nicolae was in cahoots with Gol.
"Me and Veston will go to the right. That's the way to my mother's bedroom. Hopefully we can get there before it is too late."
"So then me and Jak will go to the left, find Nicolae and ask him what in the name of the Precursors he is thinking, and if that doesn't work, beat him up?" Keira replied softly back.
"Basically," Cara said with a wicked smile. Everyone nodded and set off on their separate ways.
As Jak and Keira made their way down the corridor, Keira's mind began to play tricks on her. Every shadow looked like a Lurker stepping out of the darkness; every breath of wind sounded like Gol swooping down on them.
"You should really keep a tighter rein on your thoughts, girl," a sinister voice said softly. Keira turned on the spot and stared in horror as the old twisted face of Gol Akaron stepped into the light. Jak instantly grabbed Keira and pulled her backwards. He put his body in front of hers. Despite the situation, Keira couldn't help but notice how easily Jak put himself in danger to protect her.
"Why are you here, Gol?" Daxter snarled, baring his teeth and extending his claws. Keira was taken aback by her friend's sudden aggressiveness. Usually the poor guy was picked on for being so easily intimidated.
"I really don't think that's of any concern to you, rat," Gol snarled. Jak glared at the old elf and summoned a Yellow Eco Blade. "Oh, so you wish to fight me?" Gol asked. Jak silently summoned another Eco Blade and adopted a defensive stance. Gol smirked as he raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure fighting here is such a good idea? What if something unfortunate was to happen to your little girlfriend?" He said sinisterly as he summoned a ball of Dark Eco and pointed it under Jak's arm at Keira. Jak stuck his hand out as he turned on his Blue Eco Box and launched a telekinetic blast at Gol. The Dark Sage, though he was floating in the air and therefore was highly susceptible to these types of attacks, barely moved back an inch. Jak did not notice this, however, as he had turned around and grabbed Keira's wrist immediately after launching the attack and dashing down a hallway. After three seconds, Jak realized that Keira would never be able to keep up with him, charged as he was, and scooped her up. Daxter screamed as Jak ran through the palace: the Channeler's speed was so great that Daxter was hard pressed to keep himself attached to Jak's shoulder.
"Jak, where are we going?" Keira asked as Jak stopped to catch his breath. He flattened himself against a wall and tried to keep himself in the shadows. He didn't look at Keira, because he knew if he did she would see the fear in his eyes. Far from being too proud to allow her to know he was worried, Jak didn't want her to get worried. If he, the leader, was worried, then there would be nothing holding her back from her fear.
"Jak, where are we going?" Keira asked again. Jak was acting very odd in her opinion: never before had he run away from a battle without at least trying to fight. She pulled on his shoulder and received a shock.
The whites of Jak's eyes were a bright yellow.
"Bryan, look out!" Lauren shouted as she cut through a Lurker's arm. The Lurker screamed in pain as a pirate decapitated it. Though Jak and the others had made a serious dent in the army, there were still plenty of Lurkers to kill. Bryan turned around and flicked his katana. The Lurker that had been lunging at him in the air was cut swiftly at the waist. As the upper half passed him, Bryan stabbed it in the back of the head so that it was dead before it even hit the ground. As he continued to show off his rapidly growing sword skills, Bryan fought his way over to Lauren.
"You think the others went up to the palace?" he shouted as a pirate threw a glass vial of Red Eco at incoming Lurkers. Bryan and Lauren turned away from the enemies that were now being incinerated.
"Where else?" Lauren shouted back over the battle. "They would have been back by now if they had gone anywhere else."
"Think we should go up there?" Bryan hollered back.
"Yeah. You got the same feeling as me?" Lauren inquired.
"Like something terrible up there is happening?" Bryan asked.
"Exactly. I think we should go," Lauren shouted as she clumsily hacked through another Lurker. They both seized the one glass vial of Eco they had and threw them at a wall of Lurkers, causing them to explode. The two elves quickly ran through the hole in the army and made their way towards the castle, noting the absence of elfin life and the abundance of Lurkers.
"So Captain, what do you think Nicolae's up to?" Veston asked as they snuck through the castle. Several Lurkers had discovered them despite their attempts at espionage. All of the Lurkers had met the same quick demise.
"We're in private Veston," Cara remarked as they darted out of the shadows and exposed themselves for an instant. They quickly crossed the halls and went back into the shadows, seeming to dissolve into the darkness. "You can call me Cara."
"Okay. So Cara, what do you think Nicolae is up to?"
"Well, if we're right and he is in cahoots with Gol, then I think he might want to become a dictator of the island."
"Dictator? But we're a democracy mostly. How would he persuade the Senate to allow him supreme power?"
"This way," Cara said grimly. She had spotted a number of bodies littering a room about fifty yards away, but her eyesight had allowed her to identify the body as Marquis', the oldest Senator.
Cara and Veston entered the room, observing the carnage. Some of the bodies had been ripped limb from limb, others had just had their heads ripped off before the limp bodies had been tossed aside. In certain cases, it was impossible to determine who the corpse was, so mangled were the bodies.
"Veston," Cara breathed, not sire if her first mate had heard the slight noise.
"I know," Veston said shortly. "Go find your mother before she meets this fate!" Veston shouted as two burly Lurkers roared and emerged from the shadows. Both of the beasts were eight feet tall and had a brown tough skin. If they weren't so deadly, the beats would have looked comical, due to the fact that their skins seemed to be slightly too big for their bodies and hung almost loosely. In addition to nasty looking claws and fangs, both of the Lurkers wielded a double-edged spear. Veston drew his katana and prepared to fight as Cara shouted good luck as she ran for her mother.
Keira's eyes widened as she stepped back automatically in fear. Jak looked at her and cocked his head. He could sense that she was scared to death, but he had eluded Gol, at least for the time being. He took a small step towards her and she backed away from him. Jak reached out and Keira flattened herself against the wall and closed her eyes as though expecting to be hit at any second. Jak put his hand softly and she flinched. Jak withdrew his hand quickly, the flinch hitting him harder than a physical blow. Jak backed away from Keira, trying to figure out what he had done to scare her so badly. He looked at Daxter, hoping his friend would have some kind of answer when Daxter screamed and leapt off his shoulder. Jak blinked back tears- his friends were terrified of him and he had no idea why.
"Jak! What the Legatee is wrong with you?" Daxter screeched. Jak was taken aback; what had he done? "Your eyes…" Daxter trailed off. Jak felt his face, as though he would be able to feel something was wrong. To his surprise, he did feel different. His eyes were burning, giving off heat so that when his finger touched the closed eyelid, he had to pull it off.
"What's happening to you?" Keira whispered. Jak looked at her as his eyes shone a deeper yellow. Keira squealed in fear, since she knew that the brighter one's eyes shone the more irrational the person would become. As she prepared to bolt away with Daxter, Keira noticed something else about Jak.
His azure gaze had not changed.
Keira took a tentative step towards Jak, hoping that he was all right and terrified of what would happen if he wasn't. Jak closed his eyes and felt a presence enter his mind once again.
"Kill the girl…" it whispered to Jak. Jak shook his head hoping to shut the voice up. "She does not understand you. She thinks you are the enemy. She will betray you…" Jak shook his head harder and the voice left. Jak wondered where that voice had come from. He knew that Keira would never betray him, but he noticed that Keira did seem to be petrified of him for no apparent reason. He looked at her again, and she immediately ran forward and embraced. Jak gasped as Keira's arm crushed his chest as she tightened her grip.
"I was so scared that I might lose you," she whispered. Jak couldn't respond, he was too bust trying to place the voice he had heard in his mind. All of a sudden, everything clicked.
It was Gol.
Jak pushed Keira away. He ignored the hurt in her eyes as he looked at his hands, disgusted with himself. Somehow Gol had found a way to sneak into his very mind again. Jak backed away from Keira, scared for her. Scared of himself. He could still feel Gol's presence, lurking in the shadows of his mind, waiting for the perfect moment to come forth and try to persuade Jak to serve him. But Jak would never do such a thing. Jak swore to himself that if he sensed that he was losing the fight against Gol then he would take his own life. Better off dead then alive with even the slightest chance that he would harm Keira.
Jak took another step away and Keira grabbed his wrist. Jak tried to pull away, but found her grip to be surprisingly strong. Daxter jumped back up on his shoulder and wrapped his tail around Jak's shoulder.
"Don't leave Jak," Keira whispered. If Jak left, she didn't know what she would do.
"Yeah buddy, we need ya here," Daxter said sincerely. Jak shook his head- his friends didn't know the danger that they were in by him being around. If Gol ever made him lose control for even an instant, Jak knew that his friends would be the ones to pay the price.
"Jak, what happened before?" Keira asked as she looked in Jak's eyes. To her relief, they were the normal blue and white again, but she was puzzled by his confusion and fear. Jak began drawing in her hand, hoping that she wouldn't freak out when he had told her what was happening to him. "Gol has… found a way… to enter… my mind…" Keira looked at Jak in horror. Jak flinched, but he noticed that all of her fear was not directed at him, but rather for him. "I think… he might make… me do things… that I… don't want to…" Keira looked up at him again, beginning to see where he was going with this. "I don't… think I… should be… near you any… more." Keira's eyes began to fill up with tears as she realized Jak was leaving her. As the Channeler began to back off, Keira grabbed him and pulled him back.
"You're not going anywhere Jak. You know you would never hurt me. I know you wouldn't ever hurt me. And Gol can't change that," Keira finished as she hugged Jak. Jak tried to resist, but eventually his arms wrapped around Keira's back and he pulled her closer to him. Daxter hopped down and looked at the touching scene and opened his mouth but then decided better of it.
Jak leaned down and captured Keira's mouth with his own. As their lips connected, he once again felt that connection with her. It transcended physical touch, it filled his heart and mind with his love for her.
A sudden scream sounded as Gol fell to his knees. Jak left Keira and motioned for her to run and find Nicolae. He summoned a Yellow Eco Blade as Keira scooped Daxter up and began running.
"I don't know what kind of tricks you're trying boy," Gol snarled as he gathered his powers, "but you won't catch me off guard again!" Jak puzzled this for a second before sending a beam at Gol. Gol teleported closer to Jak and off to the side as he launched a blast of Dark Lightning. Jak absorbed the attack into his Eco Blade and rushed at Gol. As he brought his Blade down for Gol's head a sudden pain filled Jak's head. His Eco Blade dispersed and his eyes rolled back in his head as he fell to his knees. Jak grabbed his head and pressed the temples together, trying to make the pain lessen. It was to no avail.
"That's right scum," Gol chuckled. "Bow down to me." Jak looked up at Gol and tried to focus his Channeling powers, but the pain was too distracting and he fell backwards hitting his head on the stone floor.
"Fool! You think you can beat me?" Gol cackled as Jak thrashed on the floor. "I can see your mind Jak. I will always be watching you. We are connected, you and I. We are similar, and soon, your body will be mine to control!" Gol said before bursting out in laughter. His words infuriated Jak, who felt so impure and unclean knowing that Gol had access to his mind whenever he wanted. Gol raised his hand and purple electricity crackled at his fingertips. Through the pain, Jak saw Gol and realized what the crazed Sage was going to do. Jak closed his eyes and waited for the attack to come and tear at his body…
One of the Lurkers ran forward and thrust his spear directly at Veston's heart. The Blade Channeler quickly deflected it so that the tip was embedded in the wooden floor. He quickly dodged to the right as the other Lurker slammed his spear down, no doubt hoping to cut right through the meddlesome elf. Veston slung his arm around the first Lurker's spear and followed his arm with his body. As he passed between the spear and the Lurker, Veston made a nick in the rib cage and then brought his sword up to block a blow made by the second Lurker that was aimed at his face.
Veston moved the second Lurker's spear down so that it was slammed into the first Lurker's spear. As the first Lurker tried to pry his weapon out of the ground, Veston broke the lock with the second Lurker. As the second Lurker aimed his weapon, the first Lurker freed his weapon and rushed in, bellowing.
Both Lurkers drove their weapons forward, only to have them deflected with one swipe. Veston knocked one spear aside as he jumped over an incoming swipe from the other. He spun around and leaned his head backwards as the other side of the spear he had deflected came slashing in. So narrowly did he dodge the attack that Veston felt some of his hair part with his scalp and saw it fall through the air.
Again both of the Lurkers tried the same move, and again their stabs were blocked with a single move. Veston went to work, blocking one spear only to have to dodge that spear's other side while blocking the owner of the second spear. At last he caught a break when one of the Lurkers did something incredible stupid. One of them apparently decided that what it needed was a bigger height advantage, so it leapt onto a marble column and pushed off, its immense weight shattering the supporting stone stake.
As it came down, Veston saw a chance and jumped up, swinging his sword so fast that it cut clear through the spear and separated a piece about two feet in length. Veston grabbed this by the cut end and landed. As the Lurkers came forward again, Veston used the tip of the spear as another sword. So quickly did he block the incoming attacks that the clangs sounded as though Christmas bells were ringing across the entire island.
For the third time, both of the Lurkers aimed their spear points at Veston's heart and stabbed. The same attack yielded the same result: Veston blocked. This time, he ended block by slamming the spears down and leaping over them. As he passed between the Lurkers, Veston flipped both his katana and the spear tip he was holding over so they were held knife-style. He propelled both of them straight down- right through the tops of the Lurkers' skulls. Veston landed weaponless, but his job had been done. He retrieved his sword from the right Lurker's head and swung it quickly to wipe the blood off. He sheathed his sword and hurried on his way, anxious about his captain, and his friend.
Cara hated herself as she ran through the hallway. She felt as though she were abandoning her first mate. She knew that what she was doing was the most logical thing to do, but the feeling of deserting him in his time of need still stuck with her.
Cara raced through the hallways with a speed to rival Jak's. As she raced towards her mother's room, a Lurker suddenly dropped from the ceiling. Cara briefly considered going past, but as it pulled a four foot sword, she quickly disregarded that option. What puzzled her was the very edge of his blade. The tip was normal, with a small piece of metal that curved backwards. It could not have been more than an inch long, but the fact that it was there confirmed that it served some sort of purpose.
The Lurker was an imposing seven feet tall, with two trails of flesh protruding from the back of its head like tails. The two tails writhed as they traveled down to the floor. Dark green eyes were set in a slimy face, and its body was not made up of fur, but of scales. Cara knew that this Lurker must be very powerful for it to be on its own. Generally, the weaker the Lurker, the more of them one found in one place.
As the Lurker rushed forward, it brought its big sword crashing down. Cara blocked it with a horizontal swipe, but the sheer force of the blow sent her staggering backwards a couple of steps. That was all the Lurker needed, as it charged forward, swinging its weapon as it did so. Cara blocked the first horizontal swipe, but realized after that that it would be much easier to simply dodge the incoming attacks. She leaned forward under another horizontal strike and then stood up straight and spun to the left as a vertical blow came from below. She leaned forward again and dodged a third attack, but realized the flaw in her plan quickly: if she continued to back up without attacking, she would eventually run out of room and lose.
As the Lurker thrust his sword forward, Cara brought hers crashing down to block it. Unfortunately, she had fallen right into the Lurker's trap, and it rotated his sword. Cara's weapon was caught in the small bit of metal at the tip and was jerked out of her grip. She ducked under a vertical strike, thinking of how to get her sword back when she realized that her sword was still caught in the Lurker's weapon. She recognized the fact that her weapon would remain attached so long as the sword kept moving. She leaned to the right as the Lurker brought his (and her) sword back up and then thrust forward. Cara grabbed the hilt of her blade and grabbed the reverse side of her weapon. She pulled on the top and it spun out of the Lurker's grip and back into her awaiting hand.
Cara spun around and brought her sword rushing in, its blade hissing as it split the air. The Lurker rotated his sword so that the hilt was facing towards the ceiling and blocked the incoming strike. He jumped back before leaping forward, spinning in the air and connecting his foot with Cara's face.
The Coordinating Channeler went stumbling back and fell as she hit a column. Fortunately, she retained enough of her senses that she saw the Lurker landing and she rolled to the side just in time to avoid being sliced in two. The same could not be said of the stone column, which shattered as the Lurker's sword went right through it. Cara got to one knee before the Lurker struck again, swinging with the arm closest to Cara. Even as she blocked the attack, the Lurker moved in with nightmarish speed and transferred his weapon to his back hand. Before she realized what was happening, Cara felt the breath leave her body as the Lurker hit her in the solerplexis with a palm heel. Once again she went through the air, but did not travel far. The two tails from the Lurker's head grabbed her arms and pulled her back in. Cara gasped in pain as a size thirty foot hit her in the chest, most likely damaging some ribs, and sending her flying through the air again.
Cara landed painfully on the stairs, the sharp corners digging into her back and increasing her discomfort. The Lurker once again tried to cut through her, but Cara dodged again, determined to defeat this foe and see her mother. Her dreams were cut short, however, by the Lurker grabbing her by the chest and picking her up. The Lurker slammed her into another and brought his sword back to induce the killing blow. Cara saw her chance and kicked the Lurker in the face. As it went stumbling back, Cara landed and brought her sword up to her shoulder, pointing straight ahead at the Lurker.
Cara darted forward and with an upward strike knocked aside the dazed Lurker's weapon. She brought her sword back and thrust it forward one final time- directly between the eyes of the Lurker. As it slumped to the floor, Cara collapsed. She breathed deeply, her body aching from the battle it had just gone through. She remembered her mother and painfully got up, staggering to get to her mother's bedroom, which was so close…
The lightning at Gol's fingertips continued to crackle and Jak braced himself for the pain that he knew was coming. As a cry split the air, Jak was surprised to hear it come from Gol and not himself. He looked up as the pain in his head vanished. Keira had reappeared and had hit Gol in the back with an Eco arrow.
"By the Precursors, I love her," Jak thought as Keira loaded up another arrow. Gol teleported away and the arrow went through thin air, detonating on a wall. He reappeared in front of Keira and his left hand came down with a ball of Dark Eco held in it. Keira closed her eyes in preparation for the most likely fatal attack.
But it never came.
Gol screeched as Jak sent thin beams of Yellow Eco, nicking him in the limbs. Some of the strikes went so deep that they severed skin, muscle and nerves. Gol's legs gave out and he landed on the floor, his legs dead. He snarled and forced Jak to collapse by invading his mind again. He vanished as Keira loaded another arrow into her bow. Keira glared at the space which had been previously occupied by evil incarnate before rushing over to Jak, whose face was pale.
"Jak!" Keira shouted as his body shook. Convulsions wracked his body as Keira shouted, try to get through to him. As his movements slowed, Keira brought his face up in a fierce kiss, hoping that it would revive him again. To her delight, Keira heard Jak groan as his fingers went through her hair. She broke away from him and looked at Jak, who smiled at her. Keira smiled back before slapping him across the face. Jak looked her bewildered as she growled at him.
"That was for leaving me like that," she said softly. As Jak looked at her and pouted slightly, she leaned down and kissed him again. "And that was for coming back."
"I think he was faking Keira. He knew you would do that," Daxter said as he grinned. A slap on the back of the head by Keira made him wrinkle his nose and he climbed back on Jak's shoulder.
"By the way, why are you so happy?" Daxter asked as he ,looked at the grinning girl. Jak was wondering that as well: this was hardly the time to be cheerful.
"Didn't you hear what Gol said? He said, 'We are connected, you and I.' At first I thought that he misspoke, but then I remembered before when we kissed. Gol cried out in pain because of your emotions. At first I didn't know why, but after thinking about it for a minute, I figured it out. It was love Jak." Jak went slightly red at this statement, but Keira continued as though she hadn't noticed. "Love is such a foreign emotion to Gol that when you feel it while he's connected to you mentally it gives him physical agony." Jak blinked as he realized that Keira was right. Not only had Keira found out a way to block Gol from accessing his mind, but she had also found a way to maybe use the mind link Jak had with Gol against the Dark Sage. Keira opened her mouth but Jak clasped a hand around it. He held his finger up to his lips as a voice came in from down the hall. The trio looked at each other and nodded as they silently made their way to the open door…
Cara leaned against the door of her mother's bedroom. The cool stone felt welcoming to her burning flesh, but it did not last. She tried to stand, but a wave if dizziness gripped her and she went falling back…
Only to land in Veston's arms. "Captain! Cara!" He shouted as he shook her shoulders. Cara responded by mumbling something incomprehensible. "Here," Veston said as he turned on his Green Eco Box. The healing substance flowed from his body into Cara's, eliminating her fatigue and restoring her strength. Cara stood up and opened the door.
She did not even have to go over to her mother's bed to know the truth. The scent of death hung in the air, but fortunately, Cara could not smell blood. That meant either her mother was killed quickly, which Cara hoped was true, or she was tortured by Gol until she died. If the latter proved to be true, Cara vowed that she would never stop until Gol was dead and ripped apart. She went over to her mother's bed to see her mom for the last time in her life. "She looks peaceful," Cara thought as she stroked her mother's hair. It appeared that what had killed her mother was the poison that Gol had secretly administered to her. There was no sign of a struggle, just a sense that her mother had been sleeping still and had died in her sleep. Grateful that her mother apparently had not suffered, Cara turned and left.
"So, what now Captain?" Veston asked, referring to her title. He was unsure how the girl was coping with her mother's death and did not want to invite undeserving rage from the potentially irrational elf.
"We find Jak and Keira," Cara said in a slightly high-pitched voice. Veston knew that Cara was suppressing her emotions until the tears and the grief could manifest themselves safely. The two of them made their way to Nicolae's private quarters, where Cara knew he would be gloating about the attack.
"How could you?" Cara heard as she drew near the room. She went inside and saw Nicolae sitting behind his desk like a pompous ass. Jak was breathing heavily out of anger and Keira's face was red with rage. But it was Bryan and Lauren that surprised Cara.
"How could you!" Cara heard Lauren shriek again as Nicolae smirked. He stood up and nodded to Cara, who merely snarled in response.
"Simple. Those who were weak have been eliminated, and now only the strong remain. I'll pretend to be upset about the death of the senators and the people will elect me king in light of your mother's unfortunate demise." Something in his tone made Cara narrow her eyes at him.
"It was you!" She realized. "You poisoned my mother."
"Of course. The old lady was growing inept and feeble in her old age, and she refused to allow me to court you. That will change when I am king, I can assure you." Despite herself, Cara shivered in a small amount of fear as he stood up tall. He was right: as king it would be quite within his power to marry the princess; even against her will.
"You're forgetting one thing: I'll never serve you. I'd rather be exiled!" Cara shouted. To be exiled from Brigands' Bastion was a fate considered worse than death, but this pronouncement did not seem to faze Nicolae in the least.
"And I'll be exiled before Cara is forced to marry scum like you!" Veston snarled as he drew his blade. In an instant, the two elves standing behind the door that no one had noticed had drawn their swords and pointed them at Veston. One pointed him in the back of the leg, while the other let the point of his blade touch the back of Veston's neck.
"How can you side with them?" Lauren shouted.
"Better to serve Nicolae and be high up in society than fight and be killed," one of the guards said in response.
"Coward," Keira and Bryan said simultaneously. Nicolae's eyes narrowed.
"I apologize, but I am afraid that seeing as how the princess will not comply, I will have no choice to banish both her and you, first mate. Though that title will no longer apply to you, since your ship was destroyed. And as for the outsiders, I think I'll put them to death."
"That bill was never passed, asshole!" Veston shouted as one of the guards twisted his arm behind his back and lifted him off the ground.
"I think you are forgetting, whelp, that I now have supreme power." Nicolae said gloatingly.
The next day dawned bright and hot. There was no joy, however, as Jak, Keira, Daxter, Bryan, Lauren, Cara and Veston stood in the middle of what remained of the town. They were chained and each was armed by at least three guards. The only thing they were thankful for was the fact that they still had their Eco Boxes: Nicolae had no idea what the brightly colored boxes on their belts really were.
"Citizens of Brigands' Bastion!" Nicolae shouted, to a response of a mixture of booing and cheering. "It is my deepest regret to inform you of treason of the worst kind. Princess Cara Tarakava has been found guilty of conspiring with Lurkers in order to murder her mother. Sadly, she succeeded, and the now late Queen Nui Tarakava has passed away. By rights, power should move to Princess Cara, but as she is guilty of treason, treachery, and murder, the senators deemed that I shall inherit the throne. Although it is within my power to put the Princess and her co-conspirators to death, I will grant them mercy. Princess Cara Tarakava, Veston Droit, Bryan Caulfield, Lauren Handy, Keira Hagia, Daxter Bryant, and Jak: It is with great regret that I deem that you are all to be banished to a remote island. May the Precursors have mercy on you and may you repent for your sins."
Jak struggled against his chains, but a guard instantly had his sword half-drawn. Jak settled down and took some satisfaction in the fact that as he was mute, he did not have material stuffed in his mouth.
One by one, the "prisoners" were loaded into a small ship that was set to sail for a small desert island. By disabling the rudder gauge, it would ensure that no one would be able to direct the ship elsewhere, and also meant that no guards would have to accompany them.
Three days later, Jak and everyone else left the ship and looked with dismay at their surroundings. The boat had been shattered upon arrival, so it was now useless except as a source of firewood. There were some palm trees and sand, but except for an occasional bush, it was completely deserted. Jak thought grimly that at least it was a pretty prison. In fact he would have been happy to stay here had he a choice in the matter.
As the sun beat down relentlessly, the seven of them got into the small amount of shade, too tired and hot to even talk to one another. Even if they weren't, none of them had anything to say. Each of them were trying to think of a way off this Legateeish paradise they had been condemned to for the rest of their lives.
Hey, sorry I couldn't update Sunday, but school gave me a nice twenty-page history project over my vacation. So I started this Monday, and I hope I did it okay. In case you are wondering, a chakram is a bladed ring that one can throw. After traveling through the air, it will return to the thrower. I borrowed it Tales of Symphonia, which I recommend for RPG fans. I hope that this was worth the wait, and if it wasn't… then I'm sorry for wasting your time. I hope that the ending was okay, as I'm a little nervous about exiling everyone to an island. If you find anything wrong with the plot, don't hesitate to berate me about it, as its one of the few way I actually learn. Please review, even if its to do nothing more than laugh at m feeble writing skills. See you on Sunday!
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 #7 of Life (inspired by Silver-WindScar) There are three rings in marriage: Engagement ring; Marriage ring; Suffering.