To those who reviewed:

Keeroshu- Yes, you did review rather quickly. In fact, you were the first. And how could I kill Daxter? He's too cute. Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that. Feh, it's true. Yes, Jak is going to be exhausted, but sadly, he won't get a lot of time to rest up. Samos will help him out with that though. And no, I will not kill Jak. I will, however, make him go through all kinds of hell in prison. Thanks for the shout out of good luck, though leaving it to me is no doubt a mistake. Anyway, I hope to see you update soon as well. I'll try to get the next one up on Saturday. Next week is going to be hell. Well, thanks, and good luck with your own writings.

Red Mage 04- Once again, thanks for even reading this anemic little story, let alone reviewing it. As for bringing Gol back, how can I? He was sealed in a vat of liquid for at least two hundred years (I'll make it five). How could he possibly survive? I've been to that sight, and I'm trying to make Gol break as many of those rules as possible. Makes it funnier. I did indeed get your P.M., but like an idiot, I sent it back to It was me basically saying that I like your ideas, save for the one that Shadow is totally evil. I always liked to think of him as being redeemed in the end. But then, to each his own, and I'm sure that whatever you do, it will come out fantastic. I really hope you decide to post it, and to hell with what everyone else thinks- if they can't recognize pure talent, then that's their problem.

CrazyOttsel- Nice to see you around again. Unfortunately, I'm having some computer problems. Again. So I'll be typing my stuff downstairs. I would never kill Daxter! Hope I can update soon.

Silver-WindScar- Glad you liked the quote of the week. I now have forty-one rules, if you let me use yours. Hope that you mean the workmanship was good and not so terrible you were rendered speechless. I still can't figure out who your guy is, but my mind has been hurting lately, with a lot of stress and other stuff on it. I just know I'm going to slap myself when you reveal the secret character, which I hope is soon. Hopefully, I'll update tonight, and then with a huge slice of luck, tomorrow, since I'll be out from Thursday to Sunday. Then I'll be here one week, be gone a week, and then back for the rest of the summer. Hope to see you update soon, and hopefully things work out the way I plan.

Disclaimer- I own nothing, save what my insane shattered mind has cooked up.

Reunited At Last

"So, where do you think Daddy is?" Keira asked as they exited the Warp Gate in the hotel in The City of The Sky. Jak shrugged, not really knowing the city to begin with. He hoped Gol hadn't hidden Samos in a hard to find, remote location, else it would take a while for the four of them to find the elderly Sage.

"Jak! Keira!" Liz shouted. The two elves turned around and saw Liz, Tiffany and Andrew waving at them. There was a joyous celebration after a swapping of stories. Andrew gave Jak the Yellow Eco Crystal, and Jak put it in the pouch along with the other three. Richard and Meredith were introduced, and the group waited for the next two Channelers to appear: the ones that Potentia had had promised to send along. While they waited, Richard and Meredith excused themselves and left the party for half an hour, returning with enough food for all of them.

"Wow, where'd you get all the grub gramps?" Daxter asked as he seized a Cucco leg. Richard whacked him on the head, earning himself a slap on the back of the head from Meredith and glared from Daxter, Jak, and Keira.

"Sheesh, sorry," Richard said sulkily as he grabbed a Cucco leg of his own.

"To answer your question, just because we lived on an island, you think we had no money?" Meredith asked. Keira opened her mouth to ask a question, but forgot it as someone came through the Warp Gate.

"I hate teleporting," the man grumbled as he got up off the floor. He looked up to see seven elves and an orange rat staring at him. "Ferrid," he said as he looked at them all. Jak noticed with some interest that he had two different colored eyes. One of them was a clear turquoise like Jak's, but the other was a bright blood red.

"Dude, what's with the eyes?" Daxter asked. Jak slapped his forehead at his friend's abruptness and rudeness, but fortunately, Ferrid was not offended.

"Stabbed in the eye when I was a kid. I tried to heal it myself, but it didn't work out and the discoloration is the result. I can see out of it perfectly though," he added, not wanting the others to think he was blind. He swept his orange hair out of his eyes and looked at them all. He closed his blue eyes and concentrated hard, trying to sense everyone else's auras. He didn't tell them that his red eye was capable of seeing power levels. He made note of everyone's levels: Andrew, Liz, and Tiffany were unusually powerful for their ages, but still weaker than Richard and Meredith, who had been training and honing their powers for fifty years. Still, Ferrid could see that if truly motivated, the three teenagers would easily beat the two older ones. Keira was not a Channeler, as far as he could tell, but he picked up an odd sense off the small animal. He finally turned his gaze on Jak and gasped. Though only almost fifteen, the boy had a power stronger than any Ferrid had felt before except for the Sages. He looked at Jak in wonder. Though the boy had nearly limitless potential, he seemed unaware of it, and as a result, his true power only manifested itself when he was under extreme pressure. Ferrid took a step back as Jak looked at him, frightened of what he saw Jak was capable of. He thanked the Precursors Jak had been born with a pure heart. Had he turned to evil, the world would fall under his rule. Ferrid noted that it was ironic: most people would abuse their power, but this boy, who had more power than anyone else save the Sages, was not only completely unaware of it, but also seemed to have no desire for greater power.

"Why are you staring at him?" Richard asked as Ferrid continued to gaze at Jak. That red eye freaked him out, and he could sense the elf in his mid-twenties was concealing something.

"Uh, no reason," Ferrid said lamely as he opened his eye and tried to look nonchalant. He rearranged the staff on his back and noticed his friend had not yet arrived. "Oh, Harrison should be along any minute now." he said as he joined the group. He stood next to Jak, the boy being only a head taller than him. Richard was about to ask Ferrid some more questions, but a look from his wife quickly made him decide not to. Suddenly, a massive person came through the Warp Gate.

Jak leaned back to get a better look at the man. He judged him to be a little more than eight and a half feet tall. He was wearing only a pair of pants and cuffs on his wrists. His left arm and the upper left part of his torso were covered in a series of blue, twisting tattoos. A massive axe that Jak was quite sure weighed more than he did was strapped to the giants back. The giant bent down to the startled group and said, in a clear, normal voice, "Name's Harrison." The group was slightly taken aback that such a large person could speak in a voice that was not low, growling, or gravelly. Harrison's gold eyes surveyed the group and noted that they had a force almost powerful enough to take on Gol. They would need a few more Channelers on their side, however, and wondered where they could find them.

"Ferrid, can you find more Channelers," he asked, ignoring Ferrid's frantic motions to be quiet. The smaller Channeler sighed and nodded.

"What does he mean, 'find more Channelers?'" Keira asked. "Do you mean you can sense Channelers with that eye?" Ferrid nodded, noting that they would probably throw him out of the group for having such an odd power, just like his family did.

"That is so cool!" Liz said, looking at the multi-colored eyed boy with fascination. Ferrid smiled shyly and quickly averted his eyes. The girl with the slits for pupils was making him nervous with her unrelenting staring.

"Fine, I'll see how many I can find," he said as he walked out of the building. Liz, Andrew and Tiffany followed to make sire that he would not get lost or attacked.

"I guess I'll stay here and get us a room," Harrison said cheerfully as he walked up to the counter. "Excuse me, is there any room in this hotel?" he asked pleasantly to the man behind the counter, who merely whimpered before fainting. Harrison bent down over the counter at the man in puzzlement. "I guess not," he said as he turned around.

"Me and Jak are going to go collect the others," Keira said as she walked to the Warp Gate. Jak shrugged and accompanied her.

"What others?" Meredith asked.

"Let's see, Veston and Margaret are waiting for us at Flurry Conurbation, and then, Lauren, Bryan, Cara, Willard and Gordy are waiting at the beginning of the Desert Colossus." Keira rattled off, trying to remember herself as well as convey the information. Jak jumped through the Warp Gate and Keira followed.

"That one," Ferrid said as he pointed to a boy with matted dark green hair.

"Gotcha," Andrew said as he began wading through the crowd, trying to get to the elf. "Hey! You!" he shouted, and the elf in question looked around. "Yeah you!" Andrew shouted again, pleased that getting the elf's attention had been relatively easy. "Come here!"

"Yeah?"

"What's your name?" Andrew asked quietly.

"Retep, what's it to you?" the elf asked as he narrowed his eyes and balled his hands up.

"Easy killer, we just wanted to know if you want to help us get rid of Gol," Tiffany said, not wanting a fight.

"Not interested," the man said shortly and turned around. Tiffany grabbed him, but let go as a small amount of Blue Eco crackled up the man's body and shocked her.

"Look, we know you're a Channeler, and we need your help to defeat Gol. We're trying to restore the planet to the way it was," Liz called desperately. Retep stopped in mid-step and turned around.

"You know how?" he asked cautiously. Liz nodded before telling the story of what had happened.

"Right," he said an hour later, "I've changed my mind. I'm in," he said. "I'll help you out, as far as my skills will let me," he said as he shook Ferrid's hand. "But don't bother looking for any other Channelers. Me and my sister are the only ones," he added. "Her name is Emma, and I'm sure she'd be glad to help you guys out. She's at my shop, looking after it while I was trying to find some spare parts," he explained as he led them through the streets of The City of The Sky. As they arrived at his shop (a small store with an odd machine in the window), they realized that not only was Retep a Channeler, he was a mechanic as well. Liz noted with satisfaction that Retep seemed to have designed Eco Belts as well, which would take the strain off of Keira. The poor girl was going to work herself into an early grave if she didn't stop working so late into the night.

"Emma!" Retep called as he entered the store. A girl that seemed to be his twin emerged from the shadows, her large orange eyes reviewing the group with curiosity.

"Who are they?" she asked as she looked upon the group.

"Friends. They say they are going to bring down Gol. I've offered to help them. You in?" he asked. Emma looked at each one of his companions, her eyes seeming to look past their appearances and pierce their souls. At last, she nodded and said that she would join.

"Excellent," Ferrid said. "Well, I think we should go back and get my friend, as well as yours," he said as he walked outside. Everyone else followed him, pleased that finding two more Channelers had proven to be so easy. Andrew glared at Ferrid, not sure what he thought of the elf. He came along as a little too friendly and eager to please.

"Yeah, lets," he muttered as he followed the group.

"Jak, where do you think they are?" Keira asked as they emerged from the Warp Gate in Flurry Conurbation. Jak shrugged, but kept his guard up. He only hoped that his exhaustion from the fight with Tarea didn't show- he had no energy left to fight with, not to mention he had no Eco left. The hut was empty, and the entire town was eerily quiet.

"Look out!" Daxter shouted as he looked behind Jak when they exited the hut. Jak turned around and immediately grabbed Keira, dodging to the right and landing in a snow bank. The Shirhak that had launched themselves at the duo landed in the snow and uncurled themselves. Jak took in their appearance and saw that they were different, and stronger looking than the ones he had faced before. These demons stood six feet tall and did not resemble elves or Lurkers. The creatures had four short legs about a foot long on a long dark green body. At the front of the body was a mouth big enough to fit Jak's head in it. A small thin torso about the thickness of Jak's head. Two thin arms stuck out of the torso and the long appendages ended in long claws. The head was mounted on the long neck and had two fire-red eyes.

Jak watched the creatures leap up into the air and curl their bodies until they were like meteors. With no Eco and no strength, Jak grabbed Keira's arm and the two ran away. Unfortunately, the Shirhak were now intent on devouring the two fleeing elves. As they ran, Jak prayed to the Precursors that something would help them. As little energy he had left, he knew that fighting the Shirhak would only result in his loss. As he thought about it, he realized that Keira would have a better chance of escaping. He stopped abruptly and turned around. Keira continued to run; unaware that Jak was sacrificing himself for her.

"Jak, what are we doing?" Daxter shouted as Jak ran at the Shirhak. Jak ignored his friend and leapt into the air to meet the Shirhak. As they curled up, Jak saw his chance and flipped his body around so he could kick. His foot went forward and smashed the long slender neck, snapping the Shirhak clean in half. The demon wailed as its body dissolved into sand and was blown away by the wind.

The other Shirhak landed safely and charged Jak. The Channeler darted to the left and threw a hard roundhouse kick, hoping to defeat this one as easily as the first. Unfortunately, the second Shirhak seemed much smarter. It jumped into the air and caught Jak's foot in its mouth. The small grinding teeth immediately went to work, grinding away at the skin and drawing blood. Jak hissed in pain and began pummeling the face of the Shirhak in an attempt to get it to loosen its grip. All it managed to do, however, was piss the Shirhak off and make it clamp down harder.

Jak sank to the ground as his strength left him and thought that at least Keira would have escaped this terrible fate. He gasped in pain as the Shirhak sucked more of his leg into it mouth, until his hips were about an inch from the mouth. The feeling of burning and grinding intensified as Jak continued to struggle. Then, suddenly, the pain left. Jak opened his eyes slowly, scared that he would see that his leg was gone. To his surprise, it was still there, and was fully healed.

"Must I continue to save your ass?" Veston asked with a grin as he helped Jak up. Jak smiled feebly: his lethargy and hunger draining him of the energy to do anything else. He saw Keira running up to him and realized with a small pang of fear that he had not conveyed to her his plan. As she reached Jak, Keira's hand went flying back and came forward, smacking him across the cheek.

"Don't you ever, ever, do something like that again, you hear me?" Keira asked, her posture and tone making her seem more like a mother than anything else. Jak grinned feebly at her and nodded his head. "Good, now let's get you something to eat," she said, suddenly friendly again. Jak stood still as she rushed to the hut Veston and Margaret were using as a base to fetch him food, utterly confused at the quick changes in Keira's emotions.

"So, the Shirhak launched an attack and have taken over the town?" Keira asked fifteen minutes later. Jak was only paying the minimum amount of attention, his gaze captured by a delicious looking Yakow rib. Food was scarce, but fortunately, the town had always kept enough in case of a major storm, and so had enough to last for a couple of weeks. Jak began eating the ribs that he was given with almost inhumane enthusiasm and enjoyment.

"Yeah. How do you suppose we get ourselves out of this mess?" Veston asked as he entered the room, having just gotten off guard duty.

"I say we gather all the forces we can and attack Gol's Citadel," Keira said. "Unfortunately, I'm sure this isn't an isolated incident, and so every village will not have a villager to spare. That means that its basically going to be up to us." Margaret sighed: the last thing she wanted to do was face more Shirhak, but she knew that she would have to if she wanted to live with herself.

"Then lets get moving," she said as she stood up. "We'll go pick up Cara, Bryan and Lauren, and then meet up with everyone else."

"That reminds me, I should go back to The City of The Sky. Tarea said she would send some girl named Julia to help us. I'll go and wait for her, if she hasn't gotten there already, while you guys go and get the others. Then we'll find my father and plan our attack," Keira said as she got up and walked to the door. Everyone nodded before venturing outside.

Jak watched the others go through the Warp Gate, finally feeling better. He sighed contently as he went through last and felt the heat wash over him like sinking into a hot bath. The only problem with the Desert Colossus heat was it was too dry- Jak was used to a moister climate.

"Hey! Anybody home?" Daxter shouted as they walked to the house. Jak clapped a hand over his friend's mouth. He didn't like silencing Daxter, he found his friend amusing most of the time, but in these uncertain times, he felt that silence and stealth were his two most powerful weapons. He double-checked his Eco Boxes, making sure that Alecis had filled them all to the brim.

"Hey guys!" Cara shouted from the top window of the house. Jak grinned and removed his hand from Daxter's mouth, wiping off the spit where Daxter had licked it.

"Hey baby, happy to see me? Now we can go out on that date, eh?" Daxter called up with a cocky smile. Cara rolled her eyes as she jumped out the window and landed in front of Jak.

"Hey guys, guess what. Lauren is a Channeler," Cara said as Bryan and Lauren emerged from the house as well, though they chose to go through the door.

"No way!" Margaret said. She had become close friends with the gothic dressed girl and couldn't believe that she could have been a Channeler without Margaret knowing.

"Yup," Lauren said with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Wait until you see her power. It unbelievable," Bryan said. Jak looked at him and put a finger up to his mouth. Bryan looked at him and began to speak but Jak shook his head. Jak closed his eyes and concentrated on his surroundings. Jak shot a piece of the roof off the house and three Shirhak that looked like elves made of magma fell to the ground, their bodies disintegrating so fast that they were nothing more than a pile of dust by the time they hit the ground.

In an instant, Veston and Cara had drawn their swords. Margaret turned on her Yellow Eco Box and Lauren did the same, having borrowed a spare one from Bryan, who almost never used his. Bryan had melted his sword down some days ago and made a new weapon. It was a small circle with three small chains about a foot long. At the end was a tube of metal one foot long and an inch thick. He called them his tri-chucks and was very proud of them. He had melted his sword and "borrowed" some more metal from Gordy's stash. Jak, however, refrained from using Eco and merely entered a combat stance. He decided he might as well put his training to good use and try to defeat his foes without his Eco.

Keira stepped through the Warp Gate and saw a girl about Jak's age standing around. "Are you Julia?" Keira asked as she stepped forward. The girl smiled in relief and nodded.

"You must be Keira. You're just as pretty as Tarea said you would be." Keira smiled at the compliment and took the girl in. She was just about as tall as Jak, standing two or three inches above Keira. Shoulder length blond-silver hair was left free, though Keira could tell that the girl constantly combed it. There were practically grooves in the hair. Blue-grey eyes were set in a light-skinned face. Julia blinked as Keira stared at her, feeling self-conscious. Keira tore her eyes away form the black vest, white tee shirt and blue pants that Julia was wearing and apologized. The two sat down near the Warp Gate and swapped stories. With every passing moment, both of them realized they had a deep friendship brewing.

Veston stood still. As a Shirhak carrying a scythe slashed at him, he blocked it with his sheath and then drew his sword and looked at the reflection. He spun around and killed another Shirhak that would have struck him down and then dodged to the right before killing not only the Shirhak that had slashed at him, but two more beside it as well. He then summoned another Sword made out of Yellow Eco and adopted a stance, ready to fight. A heavily armored Shirhak came up to him, almost as armored as the one that he had killed on Snowy Mountain. He brought his real sword up from below as his Eco Blade came across and down. He crossed them and then uncrossed them across his body creating an X shaped slash on the Shirhak's chest armor. He then concentrated on the Blue Eco he had summoned and began a devastating combo, swinging his swords so fast that they seemed like a blur. As he continued, the armor began to wear away, both from sheer stubbornness of Veston's attacks and due to the fact that the real sword was being so fast that it was being heated up by the air. Veston ended his attack with a powerful down chop that left a large trail of fire behind it. As the armored Shirhak fell, Veston turned around and did another X slash, killing a large but unarmored Shirhak. He then leapt into the air as he saw two flying Shirhak enter the fight. He slashed both of them before spinning his body rapidly in a somersault fashion and landing, creating a small crater with the power of his attack.

Cara leapt to the side as a dozen samurai Shirhak came at her. She stuck her sword behind her and parried a strike coming at her from behind. She followed the block with a back kick and sent her foot through the Shirhak, who vanished. She then brought her sword in front of her body, swinging it down and slashing a Shirhak that had been stupid enough to charge her. She then brought her sword up and across her body before putting it behind her back and transferring it to her other hand. She spun it above her head, killing a Shirhak that had leapt at her before bringing it up and across, killing another two Shirhak. Cara rotated her body so that her stroke going up became another going down, killing another Shirhak. She then repeated the move, bringing it back up and not only cutting a Shirhak in half, but also launched its disappearing corpse into the air. She reversed the style and held her sword like a knife and plowed it into the ground before spinning it and bringing her body along for the ride. She kicked at a Shirhak and sent it back before pulling her sword out and rushing forward, stabbing the eleventh. The one she had kicked came at her and Cara turned around and simply threw her blade, piercing the chest where the heart had been and finishing her opponents.

Margaret turned around and hooked a Shirhak across the mouth, taking its head off. She then dodged an attack before punching past the scythe and taking out a second Shirhak. Two more scythes came at her from her left and right, and Margaret caught the wooden staff before they sliced through her. She crescent kicked a Shirhak with a sword that thought it would kill her off before spinning her body around and using the two Shirhak as missiles. She leaned back as another Shirhak slashed at her and then blasted it away. She continued this style of fighting for a few minutes, dodging and killing the Shirhak with energy blasts until there was only one left. She gathered her energy and ran forward, the Yellow Eco surrounding her body to make a small tornado. When she reached the final enemy, Margaret stored the tornado of power back in her body before unleashing it in a massive blast. As the dust cleared, Margaret saw she had no further enemies.

Bryan held one bar of his tri-chucks and brought it straight up, hitting a heavily armored Shirhak under the chin. As it went staggering back, he brought the two poles down on its head before bringing them across his body and lashing out a third time, striking it across the chest and splitting it in half. He spun with his tri-chucks and brought them around his neck, catching them with his other hand and hitting another Shirhak. He stepped forward and continued hitting the armor before her Channeled Red Eco into his weapon. He put his hand through the hole in the center of his weapon and curled it into a fist so it wouldn't fly off. He then spun his arm, causing the chains and bars to spin rapidly like a windmill. The Red Eco enhanced the weapon and transformed it into a disk of fire. As the second enemy fell, more enemies rushed in. Bryan quickly changed his Eco Boxes, turning on his Blue one instead. He stood still, his arms crossed against his chest and the tri-chucks came to life, spinning around him and killing the smaller, stupid Shirhak. Bryan then leapt into the air and spun his body, killing two additional Shirhak that had followed him into the air. He landed and summoned his Red Eco again, creating a small ball of fire that surrounded him and destroyed his remaining enemies before he looked across the field to see how everyone else was doing.

Lauren prepared to use distance attacks, as she was very good with aiming and was not confident when it came to using attacks up close. She saw the seven Shirhak coming at her and concentrated hard. Though she had been training, summoning and manipulating Eco was harder in a real fight. She gathered her energy and launched her attacks, sending multiple blasts of Yellow Eco out of her hands. The Eco shot forward and became spears. Lauren's aim was unerring, and all of the blasts went through a Shirhak's skull. A bigger one roared as it saw its brothers be cut down and charged her. Lauren concentrated again and summoned about a cozen Yellow Eco Grenades. She launched them all at the large Shirhak, but they only slowed it down. As the Shirhak got close, Lauren ducked under a massive swipe and launched a massive blast of Yellow Eco in the form of a sphere. As the large demon died, Lauren sent the blast into the air and concentrated hard. The twenty or so Shirhak that charged her were all cut down as what could only be described as raindrops of Eco fell from the sky at a high velocity. Lauren let out a sigh of relief as she realized that there were no more enemies and sat down to rest.

Jak brought his left hand back before hitting a Shirhak in the face with a hook punch so strong, he dented the face. He then aimed another hook (with his right hand this time) at the chest, hitting the exposed skin between the ribs and the back. He finished it with a powerful front kick that sent the battered enemy flying into the air. It landed in as puff of dust some ten feet away. Jak turned around and began throwing sidekicks at another Shirhak, curling his foot back so he hit with the heel. His kicks dented the armor, and as the Shirhak stepped back, clutching its chest, Jak put his kicking foot down and stepped forward. He brought his other leg up and then down in a powerful axe kick. As the head was crushed, Jak saw another enemy coming at him. He blocked two clumsy sword strikes with his armor and began throwing punches to the chest, throwing strikes alarmingly fast. As he walked forward, the armor plate came off, dented by Jak's power. The Shirhak backed up, but before it could attack, Jak hit it in the neck with a hook punch, decapitating his opponent. Jak rubbed his hands as he saw more enemies coming at him. The whole attacking without Eco was painful, but oddly satisfying. He ran forward and hit a Shirhak with an uppercut while following it into the air. Jak then brought both of his fists behind his head and slammed them down onto the back of the Shirhak's head, killing it. The body went down at the ground so fast that the remaining Shirhak were killed by the body as though it had been a missile.

"By the Precursors. Does Gol really want us dead that badly?" Gordy asked as he quivered.

"Yes. And countless more will die unless you help us," Veston said as he walked up to the man. Gordy seemed to quiver like jelly before steeling himself and nodding his head. The group quickly hopped through the Warp Gate back to The City of The Sky.

So frantic were they to get back, they did not notice a figure join them a minute later…

"Andrew, what's wrong?" Tiffany asked as they entered the hotel.

"Nothing," the Channeler mumbled as he pushed the door open.

"Bull, you've been quiet and moody. That's not like you at all," Tiffany said, covering the door with her hand and closing it. She stared at her friend and realized that he was avoiding her gaze, as though he was afraid to tell her something. "What is it? You can tell me anything you know," she said quietly as she leaned in. Andrew looked at her before he looked away.

"Its Ferrid," he said through clenched teeth a second later.

"Ferrid? What about him?" Tiffany asked, confused.

"I just don't trust him!" Andrew shouted, then lowered his voice. "He keeps secrets, has that weird eye, and I just think he's too eager to please us and make friends. I know I shouldn't be so suspicious, but I can't shake the feeling that we're making a mistake trusting this guy." Tiffany looked shocked at the anger on her friend's normally calm and joking face.

"Well why didn't you say so. Truth be told, I don't like him much either, but we don't have much of a choice. We need his power, and Potentia trusts him."

"I know. But I'm going to keep an eye on him. I just don't trust him." Andrew said before they entered the hotel.

"Hey everyone. Welcome back," Daxter said as he grinned. The group quickly held a conference in a corner and agreed that after finding Samos, they would get as close to the Citadel as possible before launching an attack.

"That's a wonderful plan, but who said you needed to find me?" a gruff but soft voice said from behind them. Jak and Keira turned around and grinned at the sight of Samos.

"Daddy!" Keira squealed as she launched herself at the Sage.

"Keira," Samos gasped as his daughter cracked some of his ribs with her hug. "I'm so glad to see you're safe," he said softly as he patted her on the back.

"Me too Daddy," Keira whispered. Jak stepped forward and shook Samos' hand, feeling it would be weird to hug his girlfriend's father.

"Good to see you too, Jak," Samos said with a smile. "Now, we must think of a plan. Gol has an army of Shirhak at his disposal, and it numbers in the hundreds of thousands. You will have to fight them to keep them from destroying the city. All of the cities are under attack, so the Sages will not be able to help you this time. You will have to attack Gol's Citadel and defeat the Sage. I suggest that the fifteen of you launch the assault, allowing Jak to sneak inside and destroy the Precursor Robot. Then you need to open the Silos and return the world to the way it used to be."

Tank worked frantically at the controls in an attempt to keep the hovering apparatuses up. The city was running out of Eco and it was taking a lot of intervention on his part to keep the city hovering. A knock on the door made him growl in frustration.

"Stay away!" he shouted. Lately people had been bothering him with nonsensical banter. A louder knock made Tank repeat his original instruction louder with an additional expletive added in. A roar and the sound of the door being broken made the elf turn around. A Shirhak stood in the door, its sword drawn and a horrible smile on its visage. Tank screamed as the steel bit through his skin and bone before it exited his body. As his limp body fell to the floor, the Shirhak eyed it hungrily. It remembered its task and walked over to the control panel. It studied it for a few minutes before roaring in frustration and slashing the computers to bits. The machines that had allowed the city to remain in the sky shut down immediately, but due to a safety protocol, they retained enough power to allow the city to go down in a slow steady pace. The Shirhak turned around and began feasting on the flesh of Tank, reveling in the fresh blood and flesh.

"What is going on here?" Daxter shouted, his voice filled with fear as the city began to fall.

"I don't know!" Emma shouted as the city began to descend.

"Someone must have severed the negative power couplings," Retep shouted as he grabbed a tree to stabilize himself.

"Or just destroyed the computer system," Keira shouted over the rumbling.

People screamed and panicked. Everyone grabbed something save Harrison, who was merely avoided by the mob. As the city fell, Samos shouted for them to get to the teleporter. "I won't be able to join you: I must remain here and defend the city!" He shouted as he threw an object at Jak. Jak caught the item and realized that the piece of metal on the bottom of Samos' staff had been an Eco Crystal all along, dipped in regular metal to disguise it. He nodded to Samos and joined the others.

"This sucks," Daxter grumbled as they hiked to Gol's Citadel.

"Be quiet," Keira grumbled as they trekked along. The teleporter had lost so much power, they were still an hour's march away. As they neared the foreboding tower, Jak felt Gol try to enter his mind once more. He ignored the attempt and merely focused on Keira. Gol recoiled and left his mind, the love within Jak's thoughts repelling him like salt did a slug.

"Well, here we go," Cara said quietly as the doors of the Citadel opened and an army of Shirhak came out. Jak inserted the Eco Crystals into his backpack, along with the seventeen Power Cells Tarea had given him, claiming he would need them for something. Jak had no clue what he needed one hundred Power Cells for, but had taken them anyway.

"Good luck Jak," Keira whispered as she kissed him one last time. Jak smiled and looked at his group of fifteen Channelers. They ran forward and Jak checked that Gordy and Willard, who were covered with explosives, were well protected before detaching from the group. He counted his blessings when none of the Shirhak noticed and flew swiftly to the entrance of the Citadel. He darted inside and went down a side passage that led him far away from the army gushing out of the Citadel.

"Be safe, Keira," Jak thought to himself as Daxter rearranged himself on Jak's shoulder and the duo made their way closer to Gol.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HATU HAS ESCAPED!" Gol roared at one of the elves that had decided to serve him. The man tried to answer, but his explanation was cut short but a Dark Bomb blowing him to smithereens. "WELL?" Gol bellowed at another man.

"Well, it appears that he crawled through a ventilation duct after claiming to be sick. The guards left to get a medic and the other guards didn't arrive fast eno-" the man spluttered before Gol killed him as well.

"Excuse me, Lord Akaron, but he is only a single Lurker. What can he possibly do?" another servant asked. Gol hovered over to the man and bent down.

"This," he whispered before grabbing the man's neck with his metal arm and crushing it.

"Brother, relax," Maia crooned. Gol took several deep breaths and tried to stifle the rage inside him.

"Um, excuse me, but the Channelers have launched an attack on the Citadel," another man gasped as he ran in, only to have his life snuffed out by a Dark Eco Bomb courtesy of Maia.

"What do we do brother?" Maia asked.

"We will wait here, for Jak," Gol responded as he sat down at his throne. He sent out a mental order to all of the Shirhak remaining in his tower to leave a path to his throne room unguarded. "Come to us Jak," Gol hissed, eager to destroy the elf that had been such a thorn in his side.

"Don't know why Escuro gets the mission," one of the mutants grumbled as they moved under the earth.

"She wants it, and it suits her the best," the leader said sharply. "Now, we must help the elf destroy the Dark One. The world will end eventually, but it will survive longer." The group nodded and sped up on the way to Gol's Citadel, ready to destroy the Dark Sage.

"Almost there," Escuro thought to herself as she carved through legions of Shirhak that had come to defend the Precursor artifact. "Why they had to hide it in the Shirhak's world is beyond me, but I must get to it," she thought desperately as she battled through the waves of enemies.

Hey, sorry this took me so long. And I also apologize for the shortness. I had to help set up the party on Sunday, then help clean up yesterday. With an enormous slice of luck, I might be able to update again tomorrow, but this is highly unlikely. My updates will be sporadic from now until the end of June, so I apologize. That being said, this story is almost finished. I will have five more chapters. Any ideas for the Precursor Robot will be sorely appreciated, as I would like a few more ideas. I hope you like the final plot twist that I put in, and I hope that you all had an enjoyable Memorial Day. Hope to update tomorrow, so wish me luck, and keep your fingers crossed. Oh, one small thing. This is my last Rule of General Health. If anyone has any others, I'd really appreciate them.

Quote of the week- Me

Rule #17 of Life (Also called my Second Rule of General Health): Whatever's good for you is not good for the person sitting next to you, and vice versa.