Chapter XXI: Back To The Temple


Jak jumped back into the Sand Shark and was about to turn on the engine when he heard…

Great One…

Oh, Precursors… didn't I tell you to shut up? Jak thought, assuming that it was Light.

I believe you are confusing me with someone else. The voice said. I am Tiatin.

Oh… Jak paused. Sorry…I thought you were…

Do not worry, Great One. It must be tiring to have so many inner-voices. Tiatin said. I need you to come to the Temple. It is time once again to upgrade your Light powers.

Really? Jak asked.

'Really?' Light asked with a bit more enthusiasm.

'Oh great…' Dark groaned. 'You lose a few abilities, and then the next thing you know, you get replaced. Hey! Can that pussy kill dozens of Metal-Heads with one go? I don't think so!'

Peace, Dark One. Tiatin said. You will not be replaced. You can only become stronger.

'Liar.' Dark hissed.

Please, Great One, come to the Temple. It is essential that you learn these abilities as quickly as possible.

Okay. Just give me about a half an hour. I need to grab the Dune Hopper.

Very well, Great One. I will await you in the Oracle's Chamber. And with that, Tiatin faded away.

'Man, why do they call you 'Great One'? I want to be the Great One!' Dark complained.

"Hello! Earth to Jak! You've been sitting there for two minutes!" Daxter said loudly.

Jak sighed. "Precursors…"

"Don't swear."

"I wasn't swearing. I was just saying 'Precursors'." Jak said. "Tiatin wants me to come to the Precursor Monk Temple to increase my Light Powers."

"Oh, you mean Mr. Glow-Boy-Precursor-Wannabe?" Daxter asked.

"God, Dax, you've already got Dark mad at you, do you want Light mad at you too?" Jak asked.

"Light's probably not even capable of anger!" Daxter said. "I bet he's just a goodie-two-shoes like you… when you were younger."

'However much I hate to admit it…' Light said. 'You're right, Dark, he's a dumbass.'

Jak snorted. "What?" Daxter asked. "What's so funny?"

"God, I wish you could have heard that." Jak laughed.

"What? Was it Dark? What did he say about me now?" Daxter demanded.

"It wasn't Dark. It was Light." Jak said. "He agrees with Dark and thinks that you're a dumbass."

"Your Light Side said that?" Daxter blinked, possibly wondering why Jak's good side was swearing. "Jak, only you could have a good side that uses that sort of language."

"Don't blame that on me, I didn't teach him that. It was Dark." Jak said.

"You know, your Dark Side really bugs me." Daxter grumbled.

"Whatever. But we can argue about my alter-egos some other time. Right now, we should get to the Temple." Jak said. "I promised Tiatin that I would be there in a half an hour."

"Then we mustn't be late with your appointment to meet the God-like Precursor, Tiatin." Daxter said.

"I doubt he considers himself a God." Jak said. "Just look at his name."

"What about his name?" Daxter asked.

"You never listened to a word Samos said, did you?" Jak asked. "Tiatin is an old Precursor word that means something along the lines of 'Dark Fate'. What God would call themselves 'Dark Fate'?"

"An evil one." Daxter answered.

Jak didn't reply and drove off before the Marauders could come. But he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, Tiatin would live up to his name…


After a quick trip to Spargus to pick up the Dune Hopper, Jak headed towards the Temple. He pulled up to the front. He once again heard Tiatin's voice inside his head.

The way is clear. This cannot wait and the Monks must not interrupt you.

That's a good thing, cause they would boot me out faster than I could say 'But I've got an appointment!' Jak thought.

No reply from the strange Precursor, the last of an ancient race.

"Let's go." Jak said quickly as he walked into the empty Temple. The monks were off somewhere else, even leaving incense burning and papers that were left over from the monks translating the symbols on the walls.

Jak didn't even bother to snoop. The symbols meaning was as plain as day to him. It told the story about how the Precursors created their world.

Jak knew the story, it had been told to him many times by Samos when he was just a little boy back in Sandover, a boy who soaked up every piece of information on the Precursors like a sponge. The Ancients used a super-advanced technology called 'terraforming', or the ability to change an environment to suit a better purpose. Everyone knew that the planet they lived on was once uninhabitable, a lifeless rock floating in space. Then the Precursors came and adjusted the flow of Eco inside the planet until it was able to support life. Only then were the elves able to evolve, aided by the Precursors themselves. Then, eons ago, the Precursors disappeared, leaving the Elvin race to evolve on their own until they were much the same as they were today. A half-conquered race that's going down the toilet. Jak thought angrily.

Not that the Precursors were not doing much better. As far as Jak knew, Tiatin was the last of his kind. Jak didn't see how the Precursor race would live again. He couldn't help but think that the Precursors were now a hopeless case, a race riding on its last legs. The Precursors would end with Tiatin.

Jak's eyes found Mar's picture on the wall. The Great Warrior and Hero stood proudly, forever fixed in stone, holding the two Eco weapons aloft in challenge, as if daring his enemies to face him.

Ashelin's words rang through his head. "Don't you remember who you are?" He was Jak Mar, descendant of the Great King, Mar, and rightful heir to Haven's Throne. But those were just titles, those words were not who he was. Even his name! The more famous 'Jak' was a hero. The real Jak was a washed-up, prison escapee with a serious attitude problem.

"Great-grandfather…" Jak said to the carving of his ancestor, even though he knew Mar was quite a few more 'greats' than that. "What would you do in my place? Would you go back and help the people who had hurt you, or would you stay here and let them rot?"

"First off, I'd stop being a pessimist and start looking on the brighter side of things."

"Shut up, Daxter." Jak said, rolling his eyes.

"Yessir!" Daxter said, saluting.

Jak decided to ignore his friend and turned to walk down the hall to the Oracle's chamber.


Soon enough, they came to a small circular room. Jak looked around. There appeared to be no exit, or at least no obvious one. "Great." Jak sighed.

He walked into the room, looking around for a door. "So? Is there a way out, or have you gotten us lost?"

"I'm not lost." Jak said. And then he saw it. It was a huge round door made completely out of the orange Precursor Metal. It had the Seal of Mar engraved on the face of the metal.

"Whoa… big door." Daxter breathed.

Jak ignored him. Instead, he pulled his own Seal of mar out of his pocket. He held the Seal up to the door. The metal seal in his hand flashed once and the door opened without complaint. Jak put the Seal away. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"That's the ticket!" Daxter exclaimed. "Great thinking with the Seal of Mar! What do you know, the thing actually does more than look cool!"

Jak walked through the door and into a short hallway and at the end of the hallway was the chamber of the Great Oracle.

Tiatin the Precursor stood before it. Jak walked up behind the Precursor. "I'm here." He said. "You said something about a Light power upgrade."

Tiatin turned around. "Yes, I did." He said. "I said I would upgrade your powers when you were ready for them. I believe this power will help you in your upcoming trials."

"I still haven't decided whether or not to help you." Jak said.

"I know. But there is no harm in preparing you as if you have agreed to help us." Tiatin said. "If you will?"

Jak nodded and transformed into his Light Side. Within a second, he was fully transformed. The Precursor moved forward and placed a glowing hand on Light Jak's forehead. His eyes slid closed as the information poured into his brain, and then he opened his eyes in shock. He couldn't believe the nature of the power. "Is it true?" He asked.

"Go on." Tiatin urged. "Try it. See that it is true."

Light Jak felt for the new power and it activated. Everything around him turned fuzzy and stopped. Everything simply stopped. Even the Precursor didn't move. Daxter, who had started to jump off Jak's shoulder when the power activated was frozen in mid-air! He now had the power to stop time for everyone but himself! He reached out for Daxter and picked him out of the air, but the rat didn't react. He was frozen, frozen in time. This would give Jak limitless possibilities! In a desperate situation, Jak could freeze time and kill all his enemies while they were frozen in their own timelines!

Light Jak was about to put Daxter back where he was originally, but than he stopped. There was no harm in playing a good joke, right?


No time later, Light Jak allowed the time freeze to stop. Time caught up with him and everything started up again.

"AUGH!" Daxter screamed. Possibly because one second ago, he was jumping off Jak's shoulder, and then the next… he was ten feet in the air and falling towards the ground below. He hit the ground with a splat, but since he's so used to getting beat up he got right back up. "Okay, what the hell was that?" He demanded.

Jak and Tiatin ignored him. Tiatin let out a general sense of amusement. "You like it?"

"Of course!" Jak said. "This power's amazing!"

"Well, I hope you see more uses for it than playing practical jokes on your friend." Tiatin said seriously.

"I do." Jak said.

"Now, to business." Tiatin said, even more seriously. "I see in your mind that you have decided not to go back to Haven City, am I correct?"

"Yes." Jak said. "I want nothing to do with that City."

"Yes, well, I have to tell you that this is a dreadful error on your part. Only in Haven City can you learn the truth about your past… and your ultimate destiny." Tiatin said. "Only in Haven will you learn the truth about yourself, the world, and how you fit into it."

"Well, that is a problem then, isn't it?" Jak asked. "Because I'm not going back into Haven City. I've felt nothing but pain in that City. I suffer to keep them safe, and they make me suffer in return. My life is not mine in Haven! Out here…" Jak paused. "I have a life. I have a home, a job, people who respect me. And out here, I'm free of Haven's Crown."

Tiatin shook his head. "Like I said… it is your choice in the end. I can not make you do anything against your will."

"You nearly made me cut off my own arm." Jak pointed out. "I don't think I wanted to do that."

"It was… necessary." Tiatin said simply. "Besides, I caught you off guard that time. No doubt you are already protecting your mind against such intrusions."

"Why did you possess my body anyway?" Jak asked. "Don't your own writings say that a person's last sanctuary is his mind and a place that shouldn't be invaded without due cause?"

"Yes, without due cause, and I did have due cause." Tiatin said. "But, the choice in this matter, in all matters, is ultimately yours and no one else's."

"I have found only pain in Haven City." Jak said. "And that's the only thing I'll ever find."

"That is not all you found in Haven, and you know it." Tiatin said sternly. "No matter how much you deny it, you have feelings for the rest of your kind. You have emotions. You can feel joy, sorrow…" The Precursor paused. "Love."

"Don't try and get me with that sentimental crap." Jak said. "I'll admit that I do love, but I'm not ready to ruin my life for it, or to die for it."

"There are many things in life worth fighting for… worth dying for… love is one of them." Tiatin said. "Would you not do anything for the ones that you love?"

"I would do anything within reason." Jak said. "But I don't believe that love is worth dying for." He turned away from the Precursor.

Tiatin stared at Jak's back. "Very well, Great One. I wish it were different." With that, the Precursor vanished.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Daxter demanded. "I don't believe love is worth dying for'? I think you've been away from Keira too long! You've forgotten just how love feels! Don't you ever want to see Keira again?"

Jak rounded on Daxter, anger burning in his eyes. Dark Eco cackled over his body for a split second. "Of course I want to see her again! Every peaceful moment I have, I think of her! You know, we are so different… but at the same time, we're so…"

"Perfect?" Daxter supplied.

"Hardly perfect." Jak said. "But if it felt so right when I was with her…"

"Dude… you need to get laid." Daxter said.

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?" Jak asked.

"At least five hundred billion more times." Daxter said. "That is, unless of course, you decide to kill yourself or you get killed."

"It's tempting." Jak said, conjuring a sword. "Can you hold this for me while I fall on it?"

Daxter looked nervous. "Hey… Jak… I was just kidding. No need to go all suicidal…"

The sword disappeared. "Relax, Dax, I'm kidding." Jak said. "Like I'd really kill myself."

"I don't know… you almost got yourself eaten at that arena." Daxter said.

"That wasn't a suicide attempt." Jak said. "It was a mistake that I took advantage of. The roof of that monster's mouth was unarmored, unlike the rest of it."

"Great One…" Jak looked around. It was the Great Oracle who had spoken.

"What now?" He asked.

"You should listen to Tiatin." The Great Oracle said. "He may be young, but he is wise and powerful in the ways of these troubling times. He knows the game that is being played, and he can teach you the rules."

"I highly doubt this is just a game." Jak said.

"You are right. It was a poor analogy." The Great Oracle said. "But the idea is the same. Tiatin can help you, but only if you trust him. If you don't, he can't help you. You should go to Haven City."

"I'm not going to Haven." Jak said with a tone of finality in his voice.

"Only in Haven will you find the answers to the questions that you seek."

"I don't want answers." Jak said. "I have the feeling that those answers will bring me headache and more pain."

"Yes, there is pain in your future if you follow the path set before you… in Haven, there will be suffering on your part." The Great Oracle paused. "But the same lies in Spargus too. The questions, if left unanswered will drive you insane, wondering what would have happened if you went to Haven… wondering what the answers were. But, only in Haven lies the ultimate goal… I see peace in Haven."

Jak paused. "Finally, you say the magic word. Fame… glory… answers… I've had my fill of them and didn't like it very much. What I really want… is peace."

"You will find your peace." The Great Oracle said. "I see peace in your future… the peace that you desire with all your heart. But to attain that future, you must go to Haven City and learn what it is you have to learn."

Jak sat down on the stone floor to think. On the one hand, he could go to Haven City, earn a butt-load of pain and answers and attain his ultimate goal. And on the other hand, he could hide in Spargus for the rest of his life, forever wondering what waited for him in Haven City until he went mad.

"Dax, what do you think?" Jak asked his friend.

Daxter blinked, surprised that Jak was actually asking for his two-cents when he was usually being shut up. "You want peace, right? Well, it sounds to me like Haven's the place to go. Besides…" Daxter paused, and then attempted to joke. "It's not like you're not used to pain."

Jak didn't say anything for several minutes. Daxter, through some miracle of God, actually managed to keep his big trap shut the whole time. The elf's mind was in turmoil. Could he go back to Haven… should he go back to Haven? If he went, he would be drawn into the New Metal-Head War someway or another. Would the prize be worth enduring the pain? The problem was… he didn't know how bad the pain would be. Dark Eco torture-like pain would never be worth it, but a few wounds were.

Jak sighed. "I pray to the Precursors that I'll survive this." He stood back up. "Jak Mar is going back to Haven City."

"That's great! It's about time you got some sense knocked into you again!" Daxter exclaimed. "So… uh… how do we get back?"

"Great One…" The Oracle began. "Before you is what appears to be a bottomless pit, but I assure you, it has a bottom that is shrouded in a Darkness that even your eyes can not pierce. The floor lies forty feet down. Down there is the fastest way possible back into Haven City." The Oracle's presence disappeared.

Jak looked over the edge of the platform. The pit looked bottomless to him. Daxter also looked over the edge. "Hey, I know a bottomless pit when I see one, and that's a bottomless pit!"

Jak decided that he would test it to make sure it was safe before he jumped into the Darkness. There was a loose stone on the ground some distance away. Jak went over to get it.

Daxter continued to rant. "Even you can't see the bottom… even with your night vision! How can well tell if there's a bottom?"

Jak walked back over, rock in hand. "This way." He tossed the rock into the Darkness, waited a second, and then a noise reached his ears. The sound of something hitting a piece of metal. There was a bottom. "Come on, Dax, it's safe."

"No! This is just another suicide attempt, isn't it?" Daxter asked. "There's no way, you're going to get me to throw myself into a bottomless pit!"

"Dax, don't you trust me?" Jak asked.

"Of course I trust you, just not your reckless behavior." Daxter stared at Jak, who was glaring at him sternly. "That's not a good puppy-dog face, Jak." Jak continued to glare. Finally, Daxter gave in. "Wow, who would've thought that a glare could be more powerful than the puppy-dog pout?"

"Now, let's go." Jak said as Daxter jumped on his shoulder. And then Jak leapt down into the Darkness.


LES: Okay, I think that is a good place to stop. On to the next chapter.