To those who reviewed:

Keeroshu- Jak? Dull? When did you get the idea that those two words can be in the same chapter? If everything goes as planned, the whole gang will get some well deserved time off before another giant battle, which will take me a couple of weeks to complete. Actually, the chapter was supposed to be dull, but it was only about six pages when I was done, so I added in a few fights to lengthen it. I just hope it didn't look tacked on and cheesy. Thanks for letting me know in advance that you'll be away. Enjoy vacation, and I really hope that the weather and everything else are to your liking. I hope that the slump you're in is broken, but then again, those things are like colds- they last a couple of weeks no matter what you do.

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

The Battle of Four Armies

The Channelers waited for the Shirhak to get closer. A fell wind began to blow, bringing the scent of death and decay over them. All of them wondered how much blood would be shed in this battle- this one, and the other battles being waged in each village. As the Shirhak got closer, Keira put her hand in the middle of the circle the elves had created.

"For Sandover!" she shouted. Bryan and Lauren wordlessly put their hands on top of hers, adding their strength and support to Keira.

"For The City of The Sky!" Retep and Emma added, the adrenaline rushing to them.

"For Brigands' Bastion!" Veston and Cara added as they put their hands in as well.

"For Pampas Islet!" Margaret and Julia called.

"For Volcanic Crater!" Andrew and Tiffany shouted as they joined in.

"For Wasteland Metropolis!" Ferrid and Harrison shouted as they put their hands in as well. Harrison's covered everyone else's.

"For Flurry Conurbation!" Meredith and Richard called as they added their hands to the group.

"For Rock Village!" Liz adjoined as she added her palm.

"FOR WEYARD!" they all bellowed as they put their hands in the air and drew their weapons. As the Shirhak got closer, the group split up so as to better destroy the army that was really going for The City of The Sky. Gordy cowered against a large boulder while Willard examined a grasshopper and tried to chase it. Harrison, the selected bodyguard, picked both of them up with one hand and placed them on top of the rock before creating a small shield of Yellow Eco around them.

Cara drew her curved sword and executed a deadly upward slashed delivered from a crouching position. She stood up and then threw a well-aimed and deadly roundhouse kick. She saw a spear of Yellow Eco go by and grabbed it before it hit a Shirhak. She coated her blade with it and hit a Shirhak with a downward slash with a graceful turn that allowed her to hit another Shirhak behind her with a an upward cut. She bent her legs to avoid a swipe and swept the Shirhak off its feet. She then leapt into the air and hit it in the face with another roundhouse kick. As it staggered back, Cara hit it with a jumping front kick followed by a jump kick.

As she landed, Cara saw another Shirhak swing at her. She blocked the move and turned with the blow so she was behind the Shirhak. She stabbed behind her and killed it before moving on. She stabbed a demon in the chest and pulled out her blade before crescent kicking another Shirhak in the jaw. As the second one went down, Cara stabbed forward and hit the Shirhak in the same spot as before. She unleashed a series of fluid sword attacks on a large Shirhak followed by a snap kick before hitting it with a left-right sword attack. As it fell, Cara swung her blade, let the Eco on it leave, and carved through another score of demons while her Eco did the same. She brought the Eco back and recoated her saber with it. She then dashed forward, her sword appearing as a blur as she swung it to and fro…

Meredith took the large sickle she had strapped to her back and entered a combat stance. She kept her eyes focused, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As a large Shirhak took a vertical chop at her, she rotated her body out of the way and slashed it across the ribs. She then leapt into the air and brought her sickle down on top of the demon's head, cutting it right in half. As she landed, Meredith spread her legs and swept another Shirhak off its feet. As she smashed its face in, Meredith reversed the sickle in her hand and slashed upwards, bisecting another Shirhak that had flown at her. She then flipped the sickle so that she was holding it like a knife and stabbed a Shirhak that was running past her twice- once in the gut and then again in the head. As it fell, Meredith ran forward and rammed her shoulder into an eight-foot tall Shirhak wielding a double-sided axe. She finished it off with a sweeping slash and turned around to see what else she could carve through.

As a Shirhak resembling a wolf approached her, Meredith stabbed it in the head with a brutal thrust followed by a lethal upward stroke. A large thin Shirhak approached her and Meredith thrust her curved blade into its gut, twisted it around and then leapt up. As the blade exited the demon, Meredith reversed the sickle and brought it down with bone-crushing force. A demon backed away from her as she turned her eyes on him, but Meredith delivered an unavoidable blow with a twist of her body. As an ironclad Shirhak ran past her, Meredith hit it in the face with an elbow followed by a tremendous upward stroke. She paused to look at the number of Shirhak she had killed and recognized the fact that there were still many more out there that needed to be killed if Gol was going to lose the war and not just the battle. She let out a battle cry as she charged a twenty-foot Shirhak that was lumbering along, trying to get to the fallen city, where the easy victims were. She attacked it ferociously and went on right after it fell, not even pausing to catch her breath…

Harrison let out a roar as the Shirhak approached him. The smaller ones quickly realized that such a foe would not be felled by their blades and turned away. The other, larger ones, however, were fairly confident that they could defeat such a large elf. Sadly, they did not know that the giant was also a Channeler. Harrison leapt six feet in the air as a Shirhak that looked remarkably like himself ran at him and brought his axe down on the poor creature's skull. The blade went right through the Shirhak's entire body before sinking into the ground a good foot or so. As a Shirhak that resembled an ogre raised its sword, Harrison grabbed the creature by the neck and slammed his head into its face. As it staggered back, Harrison swung his axe with enough force to generate a small wind. Not only did he take out half a dozen Shirhak with his attack, but the wind swept away a score of Shirhak.

Harrison checked on Gordy and Willard to make sure they were okay. His job was to guard the two elves until Jak had defeated Gol. Then the short stocky one would find a chink in Gol's Citadel and use the Econite that was strapped to their back to blow the tower up. Harrison also checked on the several hundred pounds of additional Econite he had been carrying. Harrison saw a gigantic Shirhak run to the city and did the first thing that came to his mind: he threw his axe. As the weapon went through the air, Harrison began calling on the Eco he had kept inside his body. His body glowed red as he increased his strength, and with every punch he threw, half a dozen more Shirhak fell. Harrison's hands crackled with energy as he launched Yellow Eco at the flying enemies while using his brute force against the groundlings. He continued to attack and protect the two elves that were so critical to a true victory…

Lauren saw seven Shirhak coming at her and concentrated hard. 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. As they fell, Lauren concentrated on the spear and brought them back to her, launching them again. This time, when they impacted the demons, the Yellow Eco spears fizzled out and Lauren was forced to use more Eco. As a Shirhak with a spear charged her, Lauren materialized a dozen spears and had them rotate around her body, killing the demon before its spear got close to her. A bigger Shirhak that was nearby roared as it saw its brothers be cut down and charged her. Lauren concentrated again and summoned about a dozen Yellow Eco Grenades. She launched them all at the large Shirhak, but they only slowed it down. As the Shirhak got closer, Lauren sent a large beam of energy at it. The armor, which had been damaged by the grenades, gave way and the Shirhak dissolved as its stomach was blown apart.

Lauren ducked under a massive swipe and launched concentrated on the spears she had surrounding her body. She threw them at the limber, acrobatic Shirhak and the spears stabbed at the demon from every angle. As it fell, Lauren sent a massive blast of Yellow Eco in the form of a sphere at another troll like Shirhak. As it 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. She then pulled the dozen spears out of the stunned Shirhak and disposed of it with a beam. As another large Shirhak charged her, Liz sent the dozen spears at the Shirhak, hitting it in the face and between the eyes. As her foe dropped dead, Lauren pulled out her bow and arrows and prepared to use them instead of Eco, wanting to save it for later…

Ferrid swung his staff as an oncoming group of Shirhak. They were swept away by the strength of the attack, but not killed. Ferrid took this time to unscrew his staff into three sections that were linked together by chains. He swung the staff again, and this time the added momentum took out the Shirhak that got too close to him. As he spun with his attack, Ferrid took hold of the middle section of his staff. He began moving his arms to rotate the other sections rapidly and ran forward, his weapon denting the armor of the nearby Shirhak. When he was done, Ferrid turned around and shot a blast of Yellow Eco at the remaining Shirhak, blowing them all to bits.

A bellow caused Ferrid to turn around. A large sword hacked off a piece of his tri-section staff. He quickly caught the free piece and pushed a button as he swung it. Instantly, the two-foot piece of metal lengthened to four feet. He pushed another button on the two pieces he had left and they shortened to one foot. He concentrated on his power and caused a foot long blade made of Yellow Eco to shoot out of the top of the staff, while two three inches blades came out of the nunchucks. He spun the nunchucks around his body with an amazing amount of talent, taking out any Shirhak that had ignored his weapons and tried to kill him anyway. As they wailed and died, Ferrid swung his staff and cut the head off a giant Shirhak before stabbing it in the stomach. He leapt over the corpse, threw his staff, impaling three more Shirhak, and began using his nunchucks with two hands. Dozens of Shirhak were felled by his skills, and after he got a break, Ferrid lengthened his nunchucks, shortened his staff, took off the Eco extensions, and put it back together so that he had a regular staff again. He coated his weapon with Red Eco and ran at a rather large Shirhak that was wielding a wicked looking broadsword, screaming a battle cry all the while…

Emma turned on her Red and Yellow Eco Boxes as a swarm of Shirhak surrounded her. As she ducked under a swipe, she made a fist and concentrated her powers. A small blast of Yellow Eco left her palm and stopped, causing her left hand to have a foot-long Eco Blade. She blocked another stroke from a Shirhak behind her and the Shirhak wailed as it went down, its throat cut. A large Shirhak came up to her with a sword that spun like a drill. Emma quickly ducked under a strike and attacked, succeeding in nothing except getting her weapon caught by the Shirhak's hand. Emma leapt off the ground and pivoted her body, hitting the Shirhak in the face with a kick. As it staggered back and let go, Emma summoned another sword and thrust both into the Shirhak's gut before ripping them out in different directions, cutting the Shirhak in half.

Emma turned around and saw a Shirhak coming at her with a sword at the end of a spear. She leaned to the right to avoid a thrust and grabbed the wooden staff. She jerked it out of the Shirhak's grasp and held it in her hands before spinning around on the spot, killing about eighteen Shirhak that were within ten feet of her. She then ran forward and used the naginata as a pole vault, launching herself into the air. She threw it at a large Shirhak charging Harrison and watched as it went down. As she landed, Emma thrust one of her feet out and caught a Shirhak by surprise when she simply landed on its shoulders and crushed it. She blocked three strikes coming at her from a Shirhak before spinning around and decapitating him. Suddenly, a large, lumbering Shirhak came up to her and pointed its fingers at her. A stream of Yellow Eco pellets issued from it and Emma quickly summoned a Green Eco shield to block the attack. She shot a beam of Yellow Eco through the shield and blew the Shirhak apart before launching back into the fray, cutting down countless more Shirhak with her swords…

Liz curled up her lip as she turned on her Yellow Eco Box and cracked her knuckles as Shirhak ran by her. She turned around and let lose a large blast of Yellow Eco Lightning. As their skin peeled away, the Shirhak wailed their death cries until there was nothing left of them save dust. Liz turned around and saw more Shirhak approaching. She grinned: there would be plenty of Shirhak for her to kill, letting her get rid of some pent-up rage that had been directed at Gol and been simmering under the surface. As the stupid, slow moving swordsman came at her, Liz charged the air around her before launching a series of electric blasts at them. The first three attacks only damaged the Shirhak, but the following ones began to take out the large army Gol had gathered. From the dust, a very wide Shirhak came charging at Liz. She dodged to the right and thought it would simply pass, but it turned around and charged again. Liz landed on its shoulders and sent two scythe of Yellow Eco through its shoulders, hacking off the monster's arms. As she landed, Liz watched as the arms simply regenerated.

Liz pointed her arms down but kept her fingers pointing up and stored up her Green Eco, being sure not to use too much in case she needed to heal later. She unleashed her Green Lightning and the Shirhak wailed as its body was ripped apart from the attack. As it fell, Liz saw a number of flying Shirhak break off from the group and attack Julia. Liz jumped into the air and took out half a dozen throwing knives. After infusing them with Red Eco, she hurled them at the Shirhak, knowing all of the knives would explode on contact. Liz landed and thrust her fingers into cracks in the ground. Ignoring the pain she felt in her fingertips, she pumped the Yellow Eco in her body into the ground, killing another score of the large troll Shirhak. Ass they fell, Liz realized that the trolls had a lot of armor for a reason: they had no stamina. As they fell, Liz gathered her Blue Eco powers once more and ran at another giant Shirhak…

Julia cracked her knuckles and prepared to use her Eco attacks. Though she was a Channeler, she had found extremely unorthodox ways of using Eco. Though she was not as strong as any of the Sages, she was still extraordinarily powerful in her own right. She gathered small orbs of Yellow Eco in her hands. As a large Shirhak appeared in front of her, Julia threw them. The Shirhak slashed at the orbs, expecting them to be an attack. Julia smirked- the orbs were really a distraction. She closed her eyes as they exploded, generating a blinding blast. The Shirhak howled and rubbed at its eyes while Julia concentrated again. She used her Blue Eco to lift the Shirhak up off the ground and made a fist. Instantly, the body of the Shirhak was crushed to the size of a marble, which was thrown at another Shirhak so fast that it was like an arrow. As both corpses vanished, Julia turned around and looked for another target.

Julia turned on her Red Eco Box given to her by Tarea and threw a barrage of fireballs at a score of Shirhak. As the demons wailed, she put one hand on the ground. Instantly, the ground underneath the remaining Shirhak exploded as lava and fire surged upwards. Julia then used her Blue Eco powers to manipulate the wind to cool off the lava. As the lava hardened to rocks, Julia touched her hands to the earth again, causing the rocks to fall to the ground. As they got close, Julia focused her powers and caused the incoming projectiles to burst into flames, turning them into meteors. As the dust cleared, Julia manipulated the wind once more and turned it into blades of air that shredded the skin of another few Shirhak. As they vanished, she concentrated once more and called up more of the dormant powers lying within her…

Bryan jumped forward in a rolling form, swinging his weapon by its middle hoop at a large enemy. His bars hit several times before Bryan felt himself losing momentum and slammed his weapon into the ground, Channeling Yellow Eco through it and sending streaks of energy through the ground. When they reached his opponent, the streaks went up his body and ripped the Shirhak's body apart. As Bryan stood up straight, he saw a swarm of flying enemies heading for The City. He jumped into the air and spun revolver style in the air, effectively whipping the enemies. They all went plummeting to the ground, and Bryan landed on one's back before he used his tri-chucks like a noose and wrapped them through the Shirhak's mouth. Bryan rode the Shirhak and used one hand to steady himself while the other was put to use shooting the passing Shirhak. When he had taken out all of the ones that he could reach, Bryan swung his tri-chucks at the Shirhak's neck, effectively decapitating it.

Bryan landed and spun his tri-chucks around his hand with one arm while firing large Yellow Eco blasts out of his other hand. He stopped after the Shirhak learned to give him a wide berth and threw his weapon into the air before Channeling Blue Eco through his body. He sent the tri-chucks spinning through the air like a buzz saw and cut down a score of Shirhak before directing his weapon back at himself and catching it. As the hoop in the center was caught by his hand, Bryan spun around and tossed it into the air, catching two bars. He finished his spin and struck down a Shirhak that was riding on another wolf-like Shirhak. The remaining bar was moving so fast that Bryan felt no resistance as it tore through metal and flesh. He continued spinning and brought his weapon smashing down, splitting the wolf Shirhak in half. Bryan paused, taking in a deep breath before spinning his body and tri-chucks again, cutting down more Shirhak…

Margaret formed two orbs of Yellow Eco around her hands. She had been training to perfect this technique, which allowed her to launch a large number of small Yellow Eco pellets from each of her hands. Though each blast in itself was pathetically weak, together they were very powerful. As the demons approached, Margaret fired forward with her left hand while using her right to shoot behind her. When the weaker demons had been taken care of, she crossed her arms across her chest and fired to her sides, obliterating the demons that had tried to flank her. As they continued to come at her, Margaret never ceased firing, shooting forward and to the side, to the side and back, always taking them down before they got too close to her.

Eventually, the demons realized that the weaker ones would not beat this girl, and the Shirhak allowed the smaller ones to pass on to The City of The Sky while the larger ones came at Margaret. Normally, such a strategy would be useful, but in the case of Margaret, it was wasted. She ran forward and knocked over a larger demon. She smashed her foot into its face and unleashed a barrage of blasts onto its body, until there was nothing left except the head. Margaret kicked it like a soccer ball and turned around to deal with more Shirhak. She leapt into the air to avoid being skewered. As she was in the air, Margaret landed on a flying enemy and launched up again. She turned upside down and rained hundreds of small pellets down onto the unsuspecting foes that lied beneath her. The pellets also slowed down her descent, so she did not injure herself on the way down. As she landed, Margaret coated her hands with fire and ran at a demon similar to the one she had faced with Veston in the Lurker Fort, firing larger blasts at it to weaken it before she got up close…

Tiffany surrounded her hands with orbs of Red Eco. Though she and Margaret had perfected this technique, there was a difference. While Margaret used her attacks in small pellets, Tiffany preferred to use large, wide blasts that were extremely powerful in close range. She opened her palms and thrust them forward, sending a powerful blast in front of her reminiscent of a shotgun. She turned her head and saw another demon sneaking up on her from behind. She put one hand behind her while putting the other out. Two more blasts took down four more Shirhak, but Tiffany was just getting started. As a large four legged Shirhak came dashing at her with alarming speed, Tiffany put her hands together and let loose a large blast that killed not only the demon she was aiming at, but three behind it and four on the sides of it. Behind the original large demon, another was waiting. Tiffany ran forward and fired several blasts at point blank range.

Tiffany saw a ten-foot tall Shirhak running for The City of The Sky and concentrated her powers, sending a highly concentrated spear of energy at it. She watched as it tore through a few troll Shirhak before reaching its intended target, and a loud shriek made her smile grimly as she turned around and continued fighting. She sent a dozen small Red Eco Grenades at another large troll Shirhak and ran past it as it faded away. Tiffany dodged a blast of Eco sent her way and fired a retaliating blast. As another came her way, Tiffany punched it with her Eco coated hands and watched as it rebounded back and hit the one that had fired it. She ducked under a swipe taken at her continued fighting, hoping that something would happen to turn the tide of the battle. Though they were all taking down Shirhak, it was only a matter of time until they ran out of Eco and were subsequently overrun by sheer numbers…

Veston took a small step back, kept his sword in his scabbard, and turned his back slightly, keeping his hand on the sword. He spun around three hundred sixty degrees and took his sword out of his scabbard. As a Shirhak with a staff rushed in, Veston hit him with a high horizontal slash that came in from the left. While the demon blocked the first attack, he was ill prepared for the second attack, which was a sword formed by Red Eco that tore through his body and ripped him in half. Veston spun around another hundred eighty degrees and battled two demons at the same time. A spectator would be stunned by his swordsmanship- his hands moved completely independently one second and worked in sheer synchronization the next.

Veston turned around and saw a Shirhak in the air. As it landed, he turned his blade around so that he would strike with the blunt end. He swept his enemy off its feet. As it hit the ground, Veston stabbed his sword made of Eco into the back of his foe, twisted it, and then removed it. He spun out of the way of an arrow fired at him and threw his Eco Blade. His aim was perfect, and as he carved a path through the Shirhak to get his Eco Blade, he launched several beams of Eco to decimate the seemingly endless forces being released from Gol's Citadel. He sighed before cracking his neck as his picked up his Eco Blade. He began swinging them again as he continued his fight, knowing that it was futile if Jak lost, but determined to bring down as many Shirhak as he could anyway…

Andrew ducked under a swipe and grabbed the Shirhak's blade. He then began to use it, cutting down not only the Shirhak that had attacked him, but seven other that were foolish enough to be so close without attacking. He leapt into the air as an eight-foot tall Shirhak with a scythe appeared and swiped at him. Andrew launched himself at the Shirhak, his sword melting away. He twisted his body to the right to avoid losing a limb and landed on the Shirhak, fist first. As teeth fell out of the jaw, Andrew unleashed a torrent of energy blasts, throwing more than seven a second. The hit the Shirhak with such a high velocity that they tore right through the skin and kept going. Andrew stopped firing, as he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't hit a friend. Or supposed friend, Andrew reminded himself, thinking of Ferrid.

Andrew quickly put his musings aside, however, when he landed and saw that the Shirhak was still standing. Giving it points for sheer stubbornness, Andrew ran forward, surrounding his body with Yellow Eco. He dashed forward and dived, spinning his body like a corkscrew. He plowed through the large Shirhak, finally killing it, and continued going, ripping apart dozens of more Shirhak before stopping, as he had no real desires to go through a rock. Andrew leapt into the air and surrounded his body with fire. As Shirhak resembling giant pterodactyls flew towards him, he let his power loose and incinerated all of them. Andrew landed on the scorched ground and continued destroying Shirhak. A large one, almost as tall as Harrison, raised its arm to slash at him with a hammer, and Andrew ran up the Shirhak's chest and landed on its shoulders. Before the demon could fully understand just how screwed it was, it had already gotten a blast of energy through the top of its skull. Andrew jumped off the steaming and vanishing corpse and once again coated his body with Yellow Eco before going back into the fight, trying to kill as many Shirhak so as to lighten The City of The Sky's burden…

Richard ran forward, holding both his falchions in one hand each as he left his arms out. As he ran for the enemy he was aiming for, Richard's falchions burst into flame, cutting down about seven enemies that were too close. As he neared the large Shirhak, Richard brought his right sword across his body before striking with the other sword, bringing it down at an angle. He then reversed the blades and brought them back; causing a second X shaped laceration to appear in the Shirhak's armor. He brought both of his arms back and delivered the final blow- two sword slashes going straight down. As the Shirhak vanished, Richard turned around and jammed both of his swords into the ground. He concentrated on his power and sent a stream of fire forth from his blades, slaying nine more Shirhak. As he prepared to strike again, Richard saw Retep be knocked to the ground and he threw both of his blades, hoping that Retep would be able to survive with them. As more Shirhak appeared around him, Richard cracked his knuckles turned on a Red Eco Box Liz had lent him, as she never used it.

Richard delivered a vicious chop while stepping into an opponent before throwing a swiftly delivered roundhouse kick. As another Shirhak came in at him, Richard hit one with a downward blow hit hitting one behind him with a quick uppercut. He ran at a large Shirhak and hit it with a vicious flurry of thrusts and munches before finishing it with a single punch. As soon as the last punch hit, a beam of energy left, punching a hole through the armor. He jumped over a swipe aimed at his feet and did a cartwheel, kicking three more Shirhak and sending a beam of energy at a fourth. He hit a Shirhak in front of him with an elbow and then drove it backwards, hitting another one behind him. As the Shirhak behind him gasped, Richard brought his fist up, smashing its nose in before bringing his elbow across and taking off the head of the first Shirhak. He cracked his neck and looked at the remaining army. He grinned and ran forward; glad to be in battle once more…

Retep took the dozen shrunkens he always kept in a pouch out and concentrated on them. They came to life as he used his Blue Eco powers and began circling him. As the Shirhak approached him, they were sliced into ribbons by the razor-sharp weapons. Retep moved his hands to direct the shrunkens, sometimes having them circle him while waiting for the Shirhak to attack him, other times sending them to destroy the Shirhak that hoped to pass him in the sky. As a large, blundering Shirhak bellowed, Retep brought his shrunkens to him and infused them with Red Eco. Knowing he had only seconds, he launched them at the demon, embedding the throwing stars deep in the armor. The shrunkens exploded, killing the demon and knocking Retep off his feet. As he stood up, he saw the twin falchions Richard had been using lying at his feet. He picked them up and swung them, grateful his parents had made him take some sword lessons as a child.

He brought the left sword up while hi brought the right sword down, killing a small Shirhak that seemed to be agile but weak. He spun around counter-clockwise and used the momentum from his body to swing his left sword so fast that he cut three Shirhak in half. His right arm came across his body with enough force to sheer through inch thick armor and cut down another Shirhak. He then put the hilts of the falchions together, surprised when a magnetic force caused them to stick together. He overcame his surprise and continued spinning while hopping forward, cutting down any Shirhak that he deemed were close enough. He then separated the falchions and brought them both across his body in the same direction, cutting a Shirhak's head off while separating its torso from its waist. His right arm remained across his chest while the left came across before he uncrossed them and quartered another Shirhak. As the one in front of him disappeared, Retep stabbed forward with the blades and cut down another one. He removed his weapons from the Shirhak and brought them up, balancing the dull sides against his shoulders before launching himself forward at another group of Shirhak…

Keira, while lacking the genes that gave her friends and traveling companions the power to manipulate Eco, was by no means the definition of a helpless little girl. She had brought a quiver of arrows that was so heavy that Jak had carried it for her most of the way here. In addition, she had smaller arrows in small quivers on the back of her shins. And when they ran out, Tarea had given her an Eco Saber, which she was still reluctant to use. Keira was not used to fighting with any type of close range weapon, let alone a weightless blade that could go through flesh as easily as air. A regular sword would have made her comfortable, as it would have been easier to sense, whereas the Eco Blade would simply cut through her.

Keira took an arrow out of her quiver and shot a Shirhak right in the eye with a Yellow Eco arrow. The arrow became a small beam of Eco, which tore through the Shirhak and three more behind it. As she loaded another three arrows into her bow, Keira studied some flying Shirhak and watched for the moment to strike. She saw it, and the three arrows she had fired took the bird down. It crumbled away to dust and Keira smiled grimly as she continued firing arrows away, using the Yellow Eco arrows to shoot beams, Blue Eco arrows to rip through armor and flesh alike, and Red Eco arrows as grenades.

After half an hour, Keira was running out of arrows. She looked around and saw that the Channelers were beginning to get run down by the endless enemies. She fired a Yellow Eco arrow into the air, and then hit it with a Red Eco arrow. A loud explosion lit up the darkening sky (a storm had risen up) and the Channelers saw it as a signal to rendezvous.

"We can't keep this up forever," Harrison said as he breathed deeply.

"I know. I don't think we can win this," Keira said as the Shirhak got closer. Lightning flashed in sky as the Channelers prepared for one last stand that would take out a large portion of the army. Just when they two armies were about to clash, a roar split the land. Both parties froze and looked to the west.

The Channeler paled as they saw what must have been the remainder of the Lurkers standing on a hill. A lone figure stood at the head, its arm in the air.

"ATTACK!" the figure bellowed in a voice that Keira recognized.

"Hatu!" she shouted over the storm. She was unsure if the Lurker had heard her, as the Lurkers had fallen upon the Shirhak and were helping to turn the tide in the war.

"Hey Keira," he said wearily as he reached her.

"Where have you been?" she asked as she hugged her friend.

"I was captured by Gol when Benedict fought Maia. I escaped a few days ago and rallied the Lurkers. It took me a while, but I think I convinced them to leave you alone and kill only Gol and the Shirhak. They weren't exactly happy about being betrayed, but some of the smarter ones talked to me and I told them how you accepted me. Maybe we'll be able to call a truce after this," he said, a faraway look in his eye.

"Yeah," Keira murmured. "Well, it's great to see you."

"Same here. Now, lets see about this army of theirs," Hatu said with a grin as he ignited a blue Eco Saber. "Oh, and that reminds me, takes these," he said as he handed a box of two dozen Eco Sabers. You guys are running out of power, so use these. Keira took them gratefully and handed them out. The small group charged Gol's Citadel again, screaming for Gol's blood as the unexpected turn of events bolstered them. Hatu spotted a silhouette that he recognized, even among all the Lurkers, and made a beeline for it.

"Why are you helping them… brother?" Hatu asked as the Lurker that looked like his twin took the broadsword off his back.

"They have power. And if I join them, I will gain that power, the power that the Sages possess," his brother said, an insane glint coming into his eyes.

"But is it worth it Liga? Is it worth all this death just for some more power?"

"Yes! It is!"

"Why are you so obsessed with power?"

"Why do you refuse to gain power? The power of the Sages?"

"I'm content being just the way I am now," Hatu said with a shrug.

"Then why must you be in my way?"

"Simple. I just don't like you, that's all." Hatu said as he concentrated on his powers and formed two regular blades of Eco. He put them together to form a bigger stronger weapon.

"Foolishness, Hatu. Foolishness." Liga said as he walked towards Hatu. "Might controls everything. And without strength, you can't protect anything. Let alone yourself."

"If you get it, what are you going to do with all that power huh? No matter how hard you try, you're never gonna be a Sage."

"You're wasting time!" Liga said as he attacked. Hatu blocked the attack and the two stood still, grating their weapons against the others'.

"Have you forgotten what mother told us?"

"About being true to ourselves? About following our souls?"

"Yes. Because now, my soul is saying it wants to stop you!" At this, Liga let out a long laugh and stepped back.

"Unfortunately our souls are at odd, brother. I need more power."

"And we're supposed to be twins…" Hatu said sadly as he readied his weapon.

"Twins... right…" Liga said as he did the same. The two of them stood still for a second before charging each other. Hatu brought his Eco weapon down for a vertical strike, but Liga blocked it before spinning around and striking out. Hatu leapt over the blade and kicked his brother right in the face. Liga staggered back, his nose dripping blood, and fired a blast of Dark Eco at Hatu. Hatu used his sword like a bat and reflected the attack back at Liga, who staggered back again before leaping into the air and bringing his sword straight down.

Hatu dodging to the right and punching his brother in the rib. Liga let go of his sword and hit Hatu twice in the face before yanking his weapon up out of the ground. He swung the massive weapon and Hatu blocked it before jumping over another slash and kicking Liga in the chest. As he landed, Hatu was thrown back by an attack. Liga had swung his weapon and hit Hatu in the chest with the dull side. Hatu regained his footing and tried to hit Liga with another beam of Yellow Eco, but his brother dodged the attack.

Liga ran in and swung again, but Hatu had reached the conclusion that his brother was unreachable and needed to be killed. A tear ran down his eye as he ran forward and stabbed his brother right through the head. Liga gasped as his mind went blank and his now dead body hit the floor.

Hatu looked at his brother and closed his eyes, not wanting to believe that his brother was completely gone. Hatu looked out at the battle raging below him and hoped, as he down the hill, that a small part of his brother had wanted peace. As he reached the bottom of the hill, Hatu roared, eager to drown his grief in the heat of battle.

An hour later, however, Hatu was hoping for a break. While it was true Lurkers had unbelievable stamina, they eventually got tired, and the Shirhak just kept coming. Keira guessed that they had killed perhaps one million, but things were looking grim. Everyone was out of Eco and utterly exhausted, and still the Shirhak approached they stayed together and prayed for a miracle.

"Finally!" Escuro growled as she reached the Precursor artifact. It was rumored to be one of the most powerful, due to the fact that it had the power to grant any wish. Unfortunately, the legend also stated that one needed to pay a terrible price for the wish to come true.

"Who dares to summon my power?" the orb of Precursor asked as Escuro reached a hand out to touch it. She quickly withdrew her hand and sank to one knee, lowering her head and eyes.

"I do. Escuro. I have battled long and hard to reach you, oh powerful artifact, and I humbly request a wish."

"Name your desire," the orb said as it glowed brighter.

"I wish for the Necromancy Portal to be closed," Escuro proclaimed as she stood up tall.

"To achieve this, you must pay a terrible price. You must give up not only your life, but your existence. No one will ever remember you, and though the world will be the same, the people and animals will never recall you for all of eternity. Decide if the wish is worth the price and give me your answer." Escuro looked taken back at such a high price and thought about the ramifications of what she said. Either way, something enormous would happen. She looked at the orb once again and gave her answer…

Jak snuck through the Citadel, the empty passages creeping him out. At last, he made it to the room where Gol had kept the Precursor Robot last time. As he entered, Jak saw that not only had Gol fixed the robot, he had added on some new gadgets and armor.

"So, you are finally here," Gol said as he appeared. Jak stared at the Sage and tried to see into the old man's mind. Gol laughed loudly. "You think you can see into my mind? Fool!" He screamed as he penetrated Jak's thoughts.

"Too late Gol. I know how to destroy the Silos and stop your plan!" Jak thought as he felt Gol enter his head. Jak blew a hole in the wall and took off, aiming for the Silos. Gol screamed in fury as he and Maia entered the Precursor Robot and tore after the Channeler.

"Good, my bluff worked," Jak thought as he flew faster. He smirked at the look Gol would have if he could see Jak's true plan. Jak's idea had been to trick Gol into opening the Silos again, turning the world back to normal. As he reached the Silos, a beam of Blue Eco hit him and trapped him in a cocoon. Mutants appeared out of seemingly thin air, and Jak recognized them from Keira's description as the ones that had defeated the elves last time.

"Fear not, we do not wish to kill you," the leader said. "We helped create this nightmare, so it is only right that we put it back. This spell will not allow to be harmed. I will release you when we have killed the Dark Sage." As Gol reached the Silo, one of the mutants flew at him. Jak wondered why they attack one at a time and the leader looked at him. "It is part of our honor code."

"What are you?" Jak asked mentally, since Daxter couldn't talk.

"We were elves, but our bodies rejected out Channeling powers and mutated us. We served the planet, trying to keep balance, but we made a terrible mistake. There have always only been twelve of us, and we must now try to rectify our mistake."

Fairy like wings sprouted from the back of the mutant fighting Gol currently. Her long and slender arms moved back and forth as she used her Blue Eco powers to manipulate the wind and try to dismantle the Robot. Her valiant attempts, however, only served to piss Gol off, and the tyrant swung at her. The fairy darted out of the way and struck out with two scythes. Gol laughed as he caught the girl and crushed her body with one of the Robot's hands.

Another mutant launched itself at Gol, using its suction-cup feet to climb up as it launched gigantic blasts of Eco Lightning at the Robot. Though the electricity traveled up and down the robot's body, it didn't seem to short-circuit it at all. Jak guessed that was one of the upgrades and closed his eyes as Gol destroyed the second mutant.

The mutant most resembling a samurai flew at Gol, using its sword to send blast after blast of fire at the robot. Gol laughed sadistically as he absorbed the flames and sent them back at the demon in the form of an ice beam. The mutant surrounded itself with a shield of heat and tried to withstand the blast, but could not hold out forever. The ice surrounded the demon and it became a frozen fossil. He fell to the ground and the ice surrounding him shattered as it hit the ground- as did the altered elf's body.

The multi-colored frail mutant launched herself at the mutant. It glowed brighter as it got closer and latched onto the head. With one cry, the mutant exploded, drowning the battlefield in an intense light. As Jak opened his eyes, he saw that the leader was crying.

One by one, all of the mutants fell, their awesome powers no match for the might of the Precursor Robot. As the leader died, she let out one last sentence.

"We have lived together, and now, we die together…" Jak felt her spell, powered by her life force, weaken and break. He stood up shakily and prepared to fight Gol for the fate of the planet.

As Hatu raised his sword for another slash, the Shirhak in front of him vanished. All across the battlefield, the demons vanished into dust and were gone. A loud cheer broke out as they realized that for some reason, the Necromancy Portal had been closed, destroying all the Shirhak on Weyard.

"To the Citadel!" Keira shouted. As the group approached, Hatu held up a hand.

"Out of all of us, you have been on this journey the longest. You deserve to see Jak, but we have other business to attend to. We must ensure that Gordy and Willard can destroy the tower, and we promise not to do so until you get out." Keira looked reluctant, but Hatu continued. "Gol had may servants: Lurker, Shirhak, and elf. They will now come out and try to stop us, allowing you to get in unnoticed." Keira nodded and entered the tower. To her surprise, there was an elevator that seemed to lead to the top of the tower, along with a Warp Gate. As she got on the elevator, the Sages came out.

"We are here this time to help Jak," Samos said as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Daddy…" Keira said, her voice tight with emotion. The Sages and Keira rode the elevator up to the top, where the final clash in this war would take place…

As Jak prepared to battle Gol for the last time, he thought of all of those who had died and been manipulated by the Dark Sage. As the two combatants stared at each other, they knew that everything was riding on this last fight, this final skirmish.

As a bolt of lightning struck and thunder swept over the Silo, both elves moved towards each other. Subconsciously, Jak realized that this was how the other fight had started, and he prayed that this one ended differently than the first time…

Hello, and glad I managed to get this out. I am very sorry for the shortness of the individual battle scenes, but I was pressed for time. That being said, I hope I covered everyone's individual styles sufficiently, as well as give each of them the spotlight for a little while. I also apologize for the crappiness of the chapter, as I rushed it. Hopefully, the ending is good, as I finished it somewhere around three in the morning. Please let me know what you think, but please, go easy. Especially the return of the Lurkers and the fight scene between Hatu and Liga. Not to mention I'm sure I pissed off a lot of people when I made it so that no one will ever remember Escuro. Also, the mutants attack Gol in the order they appeared in Chapter 29: Struggles for the Future. I was short on time, so go and re-read that chapter to see what they look like.

URGENT NOTICE

Any, and I mean ANY, ideas for the Precursor Robot would be greatly appreciated. It could be a piece of technology Gol could have found, an addition of his own, anything. My original take on the next chapter is only seven pages long. I might be able to lengthen it, but you would all make my job much easier if you could think of even one thing, no matter how ludicrous. Right now, Gol has a Green Eco Generator, eight Dark Eco turrets surrounding the Generator, a Dark Eco shield that can be brought up three times, a Blue Eco cannon in its eye, a flamethrower attached to the top of the head, Eco Sabers covering the fingers of one hand, a number of Eco drainer disks, a Red and Yellow Eco blaster, a Yellow Eco rifle, and a lightning rod that can harness electricity and use it as a weapon. Anything else would be greatly appreciated.

Quote of the week- Me

Rule #18 of Life (Inspired by Thomas Jefferson): Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction.