SC: I spent almost five hours copying down every scene from right before the fight with Krew to the end of the game. Five. I got writer's cramp Mar knows how many times, and I never want to watch any of those scenes again. Well, not until I get to them in the game at least.

Puck: (coughs slightly.)

SC: Oh, right. I don't own anything except Raye. And, at the moment, Torn's dagger.

--

Chapter 29

Two Against One: Seems fair enough

Tyro opened the back hatch for the two elves. "Good luck with whatever it is you're doing."

Jak nodded, walking off. "Thanks." Raye said before running after him. "Err, Jak? What exactly are we doing?"

"Storming this place, killing whatever guards we find, then Praxis and possibly Krew." He told her without missing a beat.

She shrugged. "Sounds good to me." They climbed the stairs and Jak waved the pass in front of the door. It opened with an "Access granted" and they walked through.

Almost immediately, they were bombarded with gunfire. "It's the eco freaks!"

"Get 'em!" Jak and Raye dove behind two large, metal supports.

Jak snuck a peak from behind the pillar. "Mar damn it, almost the whole army's in here!"

"Praxis must've really wanted this deal to go down." Raye muttered. "What do you think? Guns or eco?"

The blonde growled and covered his eyes. "There's no way we have enough bullets to take them all down, but even Lykaios and Amibika would get shredded before we got over there."

"So what do we do? Sit here and look pretty while we wait for them to run out of bullets?" Daxter asked.

"No. We need a distraction."

Daxter crossed his arms. "Oh no. Not again, I won't."

"I wasn't talking about you." He shut his eyes and concentrated. Purple lightning crackled around Jak's left hand and his skin started to pale slowly, the color being bleached away in his arm. Jak jumped out from behind the pillar, shooting a ball of eco at the cluster of guards. It hit the platform beneath them, sending them plummeting into the liquid below. Their screams of pain faded into a disgusting hissing noise.

Raye stepped out into the open. "That is disgusting." She said, covering her nose.

"What? I don't smell anything." Daxter said.

"Blood and acid." She gagged. Jak, too, looked slightly ill as the pigments in his arm slowly turned back to their original color and the growing claws shrank back.

He covered his nose with his bandanna. "Let's just move."

"Oh, that's just not fair." Raye complained under her breath, following him.

--

"Jak, for the third time, it's moving too fast. You'll never make it up." Raye sighed as Jak once again prepared to leap onto the moving conveyor belt in front of them.

"Do you see any other way to get up?" He asked. She walked around the side, disappearing from his view. He heard a gunshot, and the belt was suddenly going in the opposite direction, towards the ledge above them instead of away.

"I do now." She said, climbing on and letting the belt move her up. Jak rolled his eyes and followed her.

xXx

Jak and Raye stood in front of two very large, solid-looking, steel doors. "You ready?"

Raye laughed. "Never been more." Jak hit the 'open' button and stepped through the doors. Praxis was nowhere to be seen, but Krew was floating around near the top of something that looked like a very large drill.

He noticed them, and his chair flew down. "I knew you two were special when I first met you, and I commend you both for making it this far. We've come a long way, 'ey?"

Jak crossed his arms and glared at Krew. "Yeah. I'm gettin real teary eyed."

Krew grinned visciously. "I love weapons. I love how they look, how they feel, even how they smell."

"I think you need serious help." Jak told him.

Raye nodded. "Ever considered therapy?"

The huge elf continued as if they hadn't spoken. "My favorite was the impossibly powerful weapon Mar built to blast open the Metal Head Nest. Poor fool died before he could use it. Ahh well. But I have a new favorite, the Piercer Bomb I just completed. My masterpicece is powerful enough to crack open the Precursor Stone and release the untold energy inside! As soon as the Baron shows up with the Stone, we'll hide it in the last shipment of eco and deliver it to the Nest. A surprise dessert, ey!" He laughed. "Just take these Gun Upgrades and forget what you saw here." He tossed them a couple mods.

Jak and Raye caught them, but made no move to leave. "Not this time, Krew." Jak growled.

Raye snapped the mod onto her gun and pointed it at him. "We're through being your hired guns."

Krew growled at them and flew up. "Then it's war, isn't it?" He hit a button on the arm of his chair, and small, green clones of him surrounded the two elves. "Meet my clones." He laughed insanely as he flew away from the platform. Electricity pulsed through the copies as they moved in on Jak and Raye.

Raye pulled the Scatter Gun's trigger, sending a good bunch flying. She pulled it again and they disappeared. "Come on!" She yelled, running through the gap.

Jak followed her, shooting at any of the clones that came close to him. But for every one that he or Raye destroyed, another would pop up somewhere else. "This isn't working!"

"I realize that." Raye growled. She looked out at Krew, who still had his finger on the button. "But I've got an idea." She handed him her gun and ran towards the edge of the platform.

"What are you doing?" He yelled.

Raye grinned at him over her shoulder. "Just keep shooting!" She said, reaching the end of the metal grille. 'Have to do this quick.' She thought, jumping off the edge. Her mind reached for the dark eco in her veins, and Ambika burst free.

'You know, there are better ways to get my attention!' She growled, flying toward Krew.

'It worked didn't it? Just take out that stupid device.'

'Why not just blast him down?'

'He might land on someone.' Ambika wasn't sure if Raye was being serious or not, and she didn't have time to stop and ask. She flew over to Krew and ripped the clone maker off his chair. "Hi." She grinned, showing fangs, before flying back to the platform, crushing the device as she did. The mini-Krews that were advancing on Jak vanished as she landed. "You're welcome." She told him before changing back. Raye grinned. "Well, that was fun."

Jak handed her Morph Gun back. "That settles it: you're completely insane." His reply was the same mad grin. Jak shook his head and looked over to where Krew had been, only to see that he was zooming toward them. He shoved Raye out of the way, simultaneously jumping backwards himself. Luckily, Krew was going so fast that he didn't have time to turn to hit either of them, but he did have time to brake before he hit the wall.

Using his enhanced abilities, Jak quickly recovered from his fall and practically flew over to Krew's chair, ripping out any wire he could get his hands on. He leapt away as the chair spun out of control, slamming into the large, drill-like thing at the center of the platform and finally stopping, falling to the ground. The ruby-red Heart of Mar fell to the ground. Krew reached for it futilely, Daxter jumping off Jak's shoulder and grabbing it first.

Both elves walked over. "Is it to late to give my notice?" Jak asked, malice lacing his words.

"Yeah, we quit!" Daxter said, handing the gem to Jak and climbing back to his shoulder.

"The city is already dead! I've sold you all out!" Krew started to laugh, but it quickly turned into a cough.

Jak put his gun against Krew's skull. "What are you talking about!"

Daxter looked up at the drill-thing, which was smoking and shaking violently. "Uh, Jak? I think we should be anywhere else right about now!"

At that moment, a bright red Hellcat flew up. "Ashelin!" Jak yelled, surprised.

"Get in!" She ordered. Both obeyed, Jak forcing Raye into the seat and then jumping onto the edge and holding onto the bar on top. Daxter, of course, climbed down to sit with Raye. "We're outta here!"

They had just started to fly off when the factory exploded behind them. The Hellcat rocked from the tremor, nearly making Jak lose his grip. Ashelin righted it quickly, her arms shaking from the effort of holding it on a straight path.

Ashelin landed in the Port. Jak jumped off the side, indents in his palms from where he was clutching the bar. "You two find my father. I'll take the Heart to Keira for you." Jak nodded and handed her the gem. "I'm sorry it's come to this."

'So am I.' He thought as she took off. "Come on, we should head to the Hip Hog. Make sure Tess is okay."

When they walked through the door, Tess was examining the game in the corner. "Hey guys. Before he left for the factory, Krew put something in this machine, and he looked really nervous about it."

Daxter scoffed and jumped off Jak's shoulder. "Whatever it is, he won't be needing it anymore. He's, shall we say, not all together these days."

Raye rolled her eyes. "I doubt there's even anything left to put back together." She muttered. Jak nodded his agreement.

Daxter struck a 'heroic' pose. "Step aside, Jak. Let the game player do his stuff."

Tess bent down and scratched his ears. "You're such an animal!" He grinned at her and jumped onto the game's top, grabbing the mallet.

Blah, skipping this…

Daxter leaped off the Whack-A-Metal-Head game triumphantly. "Told ya'!" A metal object shot out of the prize slot. It popped open to reveal flashing coordinates. "The Time Map!"

Jak growled. "Should've known Krew had it." He muttered, picking it up.

Daxter turned to Tess. "You know, sugar plum, if any REAL Metal Heads came into town, I'd bonk 'em just like I did in the game." The door to the Hip Hog opened and a Grunt walked through.

"Daxter..." Tess said, scared. Jak shook his head 'no' to the Ottsel.

"Dax, don't!" Raye hissed.

Unfortunately, Daxter being who he is, was to busy bragging to see Jak's motion or hear Raye and Tess. "They'd be all 'Don't hurt me, please!' and I'd be all 'Too late Metal Monkeys! You die screaming!' Hehe, know what I'm saying?" Another Grunt walked in to join the one already behind Daxter

Jak and Raye pulled out their Blasters. "Um..."

"Dax, turn around. Slowly." Raye said.

Daxter spun around quickly, ignoring Raye's order. "Jak, I think these trophies are still walking!" He jumped as two simultaneous gunshots went off. "Me-me-METAL HEADS! METAL HEADS! Where's Sig when you need him!" Daxter yelled, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be the 'Great Metal Head killer'.

Tess paused. "Sig? I think Krew sent him on one last mission. Something about using Mar's Ruby Key to open a secret door in the Underport?"

Jak smacked his forehead. "Of course! Come on Dax, we need to get to the Underport pronto. Raye, let's go." The elves walked towards the door. "Tess, can you-"

"Don't worry, I'll take the Time Map to Keira." The blonde assured him, catching the device as he tossed it to her.

Before leaving Daxter stopped at the door. Be careful angel cheeks, and your hero will be back shortly." He bowed.

Raye nudged him with the heel of her boot. "Come on lover boy. We've got a Wastelander to save."

As Jak and Raye walked out the door, they absorbed the carnage in front of them. "Oh Mar." Raye breathed.

Blood stained the streets, running over into the Port waters, which had started to take on a pinkish hue. Mutilated and charred bodies of Krimzon Guards, civilians, and Metal Heads alike were splayed along the ground, piling on top of one another. A few were still alive, just badly wounded. Jak and Raye walked through the piles of bodies, putting bullets into the skulls of still thrashing Metal Heads.

Raye nearly burst into tears as she saw a little kid squirm out from under his mother's corpse. Jak noticed that she had stopped and turned to see why. As he saw the kid, a boy, Jak realized why she had stopped. "Raye, come on. There's a guard squadron coming; they'll get him." She nodded and followed after him quietly.

The doors to the Underport opened painfully slowly, but the elevator was fast. (a/n: I don't remember if the water part with the Titan Suit is here or not, but I'm skipping it if it is.) Both made the short jump over the pit to see Sig shooting at a dozen or so Grunts, whose numbers were slowly dwindling. "Hey there, tough guy." Both elves ducked as a bullet flew towards them.

"Get your skinny ass over here and start shooting!" Both ran over, Blasters still drawn. "Man was I set up! Krew sent me down here to open some old doors with that Ruby Key you found, and when I did, Metal Heads came streaming in from some passage outside the walls, like they were waitin' for me. There's one!" Jak blasted it.

"Krew's dead." Jak told him, glancing around for more Grunts.

"Yeah? Well he's lucky! Because he would not want me to catch him alive!"

Daxter grimaced on Jak's shoulder. "The Metal Heads must've promised Krew plenty for him to betray the whole city like this."

"Not really." Raye scoffed, lowering her gun when they saw no more attackers were coming. "Money, power, not becoming food."

"Let's get out of here." Jak ordered, walking forward.

-----

"Well that was an annoying little puzzle." Raye muttered.

A scratching noise reached all their ears. "Did you hear that?" Sig asked. The wall next to them exploded, revealing a large, centipede-like Metal Head. "Shootin' this one's only gonna get him made. RUN!" The two younger elves took Sig's words to heart and bolted down the hall, shooting platforms to make them flip back over after Sig jumped off them.

"Jak, come on!" Raye called, crossing the stone bridge to stand by Sig.

"I am coming!" He yelled, running across the rocks. About halfway over, the Metal Head caught up with him, and the flimsy bridge couldn't hold its weight. The stones collapsed under Jak, and he started to fall, along with their pursuer.

Sig moved fast, though, and grabbed Jak's wrist before he could take the plunge. "Thanks." He breathed after he was on solid ground again.

"No problem, let's move."

-----

SC: Yes, my Jak and Daxter writer's block is gone! Wootwoot! R&R people!

Ja ne!

SpontaneousCombustion