Chapter II: The Invasion
LES: Okay, the first five or so chapters will be short ones, but then after that, they will start getting about normal size.
Jak left his room a short while later after he had composed himself. He walked backed into the bar, where Daxter immediately hailed him. "Hey, I almost forgot. Ashelin called. She wanted you to get over to the Palace right away."
Jak sighed. "I'll just go now. It's not like I have anything better to do." He started to walk out, but then he paused and looked around at the small rodent. "You coming, Dax?"
"Uh… I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that, buddy." Daxter said. "No doubt Ashelin's got an impossible mission for you and… ever since the Precursor cured you…"
"Dax! I'm not handicapped!" Jak said, a little louder than necessary. "I just don't have some of the abilities that I used to." It was true. When the Precursor cured Jak, it saved his life, but it took away many of the abilities that Jak had found useful. He lost his ability to heal even fatal wounds and the ability to make himself near invincible. But, on the other hand, he had gained a complete immunity to the harmful effects of Dark Eco. He could bathe in the stuff without any harm… not that he'd want to. But being unable to heal was a pain. Wounds that would normally close up in seconds now had to heal the natural way… which could take days. "Healing was the only real useful ability that I lost." Jak finished.
"Yes, but what if you get really hurt?" Daxter said. "Now you're just a mortal again."
"I was never anything but mortal." Jak pointed out. "I'm just harder to kill then most.
Jak walked into the Throne room of the Palace some time later. Two Guards that were on-duty in the throne room stepped forward to check the man for weapons. But they stopped and backed away when they saw who it was. There was no point checking Jak for weapons. He was always armed and he was not without enemies.
Ashelin looked down at Jak from the throne, then got up and walked down to his level. They were friends, so she didn't have to be the 'high and mighty governess' around Jak. Still…
"We've got a problem." Ashelin said gravely. "I've just discovered that the doors in the Underport that the Metal-Heads used to get into the City are still wide open. We've finally finished rebuilding the City, but if the Metal-Heads get in again…"
"They would destroy the progress we've made." Jak finished.
"Exactly." Ashelin said. "I've got a group of Guards loyal to me guarding the hole to make sure no Metal-Heads get through, but this is only a temporary measure. I need you to take the Ruby Key down there…" She handed Jak the Ruby Key to the City. "And seal those doors. The Guards are expecting you, and they are loyal to me, so I wouldn't expect any trouble from them."
Jak nodded. "That's good to know. Don't worry, Ashelin, those doors are as good as closed." Jak said confidently. He turned and walked out of the Throne Room.
Jak had worried that the Dark Room of his dreams was real. Well, he was quite astute as the room was very real. Back in this room, the sad creature on the table had finally woken up after the long experimentation. "Where—where am I?" It asked with a slightly mechanical voice.
A Dark Being watched from nearby, it didn't look at all concerned that the creature just woke up. "It doesn't matter." It said. "What do you know about one called 'Jak'?"
The creature's mechanical yellow eyes narrowed dangerously. Rage filled him. How could he remain calm at the mention of the name of his mortal enemy? "Jak? I'll kill him!"
"No doubt… eventually." The Dark Being said. "We will help you with that."
The creature stared at its mechanical arms and hand. "What happened to me?"
"The one called Jak Mar did this to you." The Dark Being explained. "There was a Dark Eco accident, and we saved you."
"Why?"
"We saved you because we need you." The Dark Being said. "You see, we too want to see that Channeler dead, but myself and my kind are not allowed to touch him. I would explain why, but it might be too much for your puny brain." The creature growled. "But you have no such restrictions put against you. You can destroy him. We will give you the power to kill him, and you will be the one to choke the life out of him."
The creature thought about this for a second. It was a tempting deal. To get back at the one boy who made his life a living hell. "What do you want me to do?"
"Eventually kill the Channeler." The Dark Being said. "But, for now, we'll settle for ruining his life. His fate already hangs in the balance in Haven. A single push in the right direction will agitate the City into a rage at him. If you do exactly what we say, you'll beat Jak down so low, he'll wish he were dead."
"I'll do… whatever you ask me to do." The creature said.
The Dark Being laughed manically.
Jak moved to the place where the Underport doors were located. He had never seen these doors, but Sig had described them as giant stone doors. He moved towards the doors. The double stone doors stood at least thirty feet tall. It had intricate cravings on its face, carvings of Precursors, Metal-Heads and even some elves.
Curious, Jak studied the carvings. The larges carving of all was in the very center of the large doors. It seemed to depict two groups of Precursors that stood on either side of the door, almost like opposing armies. Two glorified figures stood in the center of the armies, both were elves. Jak studied the two figures. One was completely unfamiliar, while the other was very familiar. One of the elves was Mar himself. Giant Precursor letter scrolled across the top that read: 'The War to End all Wars: The War of the Champions'
Jak stared. He had heard the phrase 'The War to End all Wars' before. The Metal-Head Leader had said that it was coming. But he only puzzled over this strange carving for a short while because he noticed something was wrong. For one thing: he looked all around the room, even behind the doors, but the Guards that Ashelin said were there were gone. Then he saw it… a blood smear on the ground, and it wasn't Metal-Head blood… it was Elvin blood.
Jak's soldier sense heightened. This wasn't right at all. If the Metal-Heads had broken through… where were they?
Suddenly, without any warning at all, a powerful blow landed on the side of Jak's head. He was knocked out instantly, and lucky that his skull had not shattered.
A new figure had suddenly appeared behind Jak and had delivered the crippling blow. He now stood over the elf's prone form. "Pathetic…" It hissed. "I could kill you so easily right now! But you happen to have good insurance." The being moved over to the wall, touched it briefly, leaving a Dark Eco stain… all part of the plan. As he did this, several Metal-Heads moved through the doorway. "The City lies ahead." Several of the Metal-Heads moved towards Jak's prone form, a hungry look in their evil yellow eyes. "Touch him, and I'll kill you all myself!" The being suddenly roared.
The Metal-Head backed away from the elf, hissing resentfully. But they made a wide circle around the Dark being and moved towards the City.
"Move as many of your troops into the City before he wakes up." The Being said to a Metal-Head commander, who nodded, and directed more Metal-Heads through to the City. "If everything goes as planned, his life will be ruined within the next few months. And, remember, this man is not to be harmed!" The Being pointed down at Jak. "My masters would be… most upset if he died before it was time."
(Later)
Jak woke up with a groan. His head hurt terribly and he could barely think. He held his head with his hand. "Ugh… where am I?" He wondered out loud. Then, it all seemed to come back to him. "Shit!" He swore. The doors needed to be closed before the Metal-Heads could break through. He looked up and the doors and gasped.
Someone… or something had pulverized the doors until they were nothing more than a mass of pebbles. There was no way the doors were going to get closed now.
"No!" Jak cried. And there was another problem that came to mind almost instantly. How long had he been knocked out?
Jak forced himself off the ground. His head spun and it almost made him lose his balance, but he forced himself to stay on his feet. "No…" He ran down the hallway as fast as his pounding head would allow. He moved out into the City and knew instantly that something was wrong.
Screams of pain filled the air, Elvin screams. Metal-Heads were everywhere. Several Metal-Heads passed within two feet of the distraught elf, but they seemed to take no notice of him, as if he were invisible. Instead, they ran past him and tore open some nearby innocent. Blood spilled on the ground. It brought back memories of his own rampages… the blood and the death…
Jak turned circles, unsure of what to do. He knew instantly that this looked extremely bad for him. "Oh my God! What's happening?" Jak yelled at no one in particular.
It only took ten minutes… ten minutes for the Krimzon Guard to find Jak. He considered fighting, for he thought he was going to get arrested, but that would make an already bad situation worse. They hurried the young elf to the Palace where Ashelin waited.
Jak couldn't look at her. "Jak!" She yelled. "What the hell happened down there? Hundreds of Metal-Heads got past you into the City!"
"I—I don't know." Jak said. "I went down there like you asked me. I must've been knocked out, or something, because I didn't remember anything after that. I woke up and the doors were destroyed…"
"Jak, do you realize how bad this looks?" Ashelin asked. Jak nodded. He knew how bad this looked. "You're not even hurt. I know you lost your healing powers, so any wounds you might have gotten would still be visible. But you don't seem hurt at all. How do you explain that?"
"I—I don't know." Jak answered numbly.
"Was Daxter there? Having a witness would defiantly help you out." Ashelin said. "Can he back your story?"
"No." Jak answered. "Daxter was back at the Naughty Ottsel."
Ashelin shook her head. "I don't know what to do, Jak. If the Council ever realized you were down there alone when the Metal-Heads broke through…"
"Ashelin, you know me! Why would I let Metal-Heads into the City?" Jak demanded.
"I'm sure Vegar will come up with plenty of reasons." Ashelin said.
"You believe me, don't you?" Jak asked.
"Of course I do." Ashelin assured him. "But you've got to admit this looks bad. Look, I'll do my best to cover this all up… to hide the fact that you were down there… but I can not guarantee your safety forever."
"Worst case scenario… what happens?" Jak asked.
Ashelin sighed. "The Council finds out that you were down there. You get tried for High Treason, and executed."
"Great." Jak growled.
"No one can know about this." Ashelin said. "No friends, no family… not even Daxter or Keira. Jak? And in case anyone asks, you were outside the City taking care of a Metal-Head problem when they broke in. I don't know how long the story will hold, but it's your best bet."
"And what about the Meta-Heads?" Jak asked.
"We'll have to destroy them." Ashelin said. "Our first move should be to destroy they Underport… that way they can't bring in reinforcements."
"Then what?"
"I'm going to need a lot of help from you, Jak." Ashelin said. "If you put your heart and soul into fighting the Metal-Heads, even if the people discover that you were down there, they might believe that it was an accident. And don't ever look guilty. Because then people will begin to suspect you."
LES: Oh oh… how are things going to turn out? Okay, I guess you guys know up to a point. But don't even begin to think that you know the whole story, cause you don't!
