Chapter XXXIV: Revenge Out Of Love
LES: Jak already has a hell of a lot of stuff on his plate, and now this?
Jak: You are so evil. I hate you.
Inside the Freedom League Head Quarters, Daxter was in a literal state of panic. "Oh no, Jak's gonna kill us all when he gets back! We're all dead! There's no way we'll survive this!" Daxter paused, reading over the small note again, thinking of what he'd tell Jak. "Gee, Jak, the good news is we have a path into the War Factory. But the bad news is Keira has been kidnapped and the only clue is this note from a guy claiming to be your 'cousin'. Is... there a problem with that?"
"Dax?" Daxter blinked. It was Jak's voice.
Daxter completely lost his mind and panicked. "AUGH!" He raised his little arms in the universal sign of 'I surrender'. "It wasn't my fault! It was Torn! Yeah, Torn! He was watching her! Please don't kill me!"
"Dax? What are you talking about?" Jak asked.
Daxter turned around and gasped. If he didn't know any better... His best friend looked absolutely terrible. He didn't look like he had been in a fight, he just looked completely... worn out. His hair was disheveled, his eyes looked completely hollow, and he had a slump to his entire body like there was a huge weight on his shoulders. In fact, he looked prone to going berserk at any second.
"What's Torn's fault?" Jak asked.
Daxter opened his mouth to tell Jak what had happened. Just tell him! Get it over with! But Daxter lost his nerve. Instead he merely handed the small note to Jak.
Jak took it and read:
"Freak,
I have Keira. If you ever want to see her again, you will
meet me at the War Factory.
Your Cousin"
Daxter watched apprehensively as Jak read the note, his frown becoming more and more pronounced with every word.
Finally, Jak let out a roar of pure rage. It seemed that he had snapped, or at least Daxter thought so when Jak yelled: "Erol, you bastard!"
He transformed into his Dark Side. Dark Jak let out another roar as he began to attack random objects in the room, tearing through them with the zeal he usually had for tearing through living things.
Daxter stood back. He knew only thing to do was to wait for Jak to calm down. Unfortunately, some people happen to walk into the wrong places, at the wrong times.
Torn happened to walk into the room and Dark Jak looked up from tearing the bed to shreds. The Dark Monster saw that it was Torn and snarled angrily.
Torn knew he was screwed as soon as Dark Jak saw him and growled like that. "Oh shit!" Torn tried to retreat, but Dark Jak was too fast. He tackled him from behind and threw the Commander to the ground roughly. Then Dark Jak pinned him and began to choke him cruelly.
"How could you?" Dark Jak demanded. "This is supposed to be the safest building on the planet, and you just let someone walk in and kidnap the only person I've ever loved!" Even though Torn was struggling to get a breath of oxygen past Dark Jak's choke hold, he could see the beginnings of tears in the demon's black eyes.
Even though Daxter hated Torn, and normally wouldn't help him, he knew it would bring trouble on Jak if he killed the Freedom League Commander. "Jak! Calm down! He can't answer you if you kill him!"
Dark Jak held Torn for several more seconds before he let go, getting up. Torn began to choke as air flowed back into his oxygen-depraved lungs.
The Demon let out a piteous howl and collapsed to the floor, the figure of a broken man... or rather... broken demon.
Torn glared at the moaning demon. "What the HELL are you doing? You could've killed me!"
"Hey, go easy on him!" Daxter stood up to Torn in Jak's place and handed him the note that had survived the room's destruction. "Keira's been kidnapped... right out of her own room, if that wasn't bad enough!"
"That's impossible!" Torn said, getting up. "No one could just walk in and kidnap someone! We've got the best security on the planet!" Torn glared down that the demon, who was letting unchecked tears fall to the ground. "And that's no reason for him to almost kill me... or for him to break down like that!" He pointed at the weeping demon, who was slowly changing back to normal. "I've never seen Jak CRY, and his demonic side crying is even stranger! This note is probably a joke. Your cousin? I was under the impression that you had no family."
"He's not really my cousin..." Jak said sorrowfully. "But he is somewhat related to me."
"So... you know who is is?" Daxter asked.
"Yes." Jak said, looking at Daxter. "You know him too."
"Really? I know your cousin?"
"The Factory..." Jak remembered the location in the note. "I need to get to the War Factory right now."
"Don't worry, Jak. I'm sure Keira will be fine..." Torn said.
"You don't understand!" Jak roared. "Every second that passes with her in HIS company, the less hope I have of her safe return!"
"The hanger." Torn said. "Use the Freedom League fighter to fly up there and get into the Factory. And make sure you shut down that Factory while you're up there!"
"Are you sure you're all right enough to do this?" Daxter asked. "You look absolutely terrible."
"I'm not so sure anymore." Jak said, moving out of the room. Daxter remained behind. He hardly trusted Jak when he had all his wits. He definitely wasn't going to trust him when he was losing it.
Torn felt his neck and gasped, pulling his hand away. There was blood on his fingers, his own blood. It appeared Dark Jak's claws had cut into him when he attempted to strangle him.
Once again, Torn wondered exactly how safe Jak was. Sure, he was dangerous, everyone knew that, but he had never physically attacked someone on his own side before.
His girlfriend was missing? So what? That didn't seem enough to push Jak into a berserk rage. There had to be a lot more on his mind, judging by the state of his room.
(Some Time Later)
Keira slowly woke up with a pounding headache. She groaned. Where was she? Why did she have a headache? It took several minutes for her to remember what had happened before she had blacked out.
She opened her eyes and found herself looking up into pitiless yellow eyes. "Erol!" She hissed.
It was Erol, but he had changed so dramatically, that Keira could barely recognize him.
The last time she had seen Erol, he had gotten himself blown up by Dark Eco. He clearly should not have survived the accident. It seemed that most of his body was made up of metal, and the small pieces of flesh that were left was pale as death and sparked with Dark Eco. Whoever saved him was left with little to work with. He only had about five percent of his original flesh left. The rest was completely mechanical.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, my friend." Erol said with a voice that was like his, but slightly mechanized.
Keira laughed sourly. "I was NEVER your friend."
"Aw... such hard feelings. About what, I wonder?"
"Jak told me... everything." Keira hissed. "About how you tortured him, about how you're responsible for Bease's and Tigran's deaths!"
"Still sore over that?" Erol asked. "I couldn't have him taking away my title. Not that it mattered. Your dear Freak friend took the title away from me a year later. He somehow managed to dodge the bullet my assassin sent his way. Now... I'm curious, what else has the Freak told you?"
"Stop calling Jak a freak!" Keira yelled, trying to move for the first time, but she was tied down.
"Why not? He is a Freak. Channeling abilities are a freak of nature. There's no room in the world for his kind... a race of Freaks."
"Jak's not the freak, you are!" Keira hissed. "Besides, you are one to talk, Erol. It looks like you're Channeling Dark Eco to me."
"You are right there." Erol said. "But I am not a freak of nature, but a freak of technology. Believe me, these abilities are not natural. I am not a Channeler. My... friends have genetically altered my DNA so I can be your boyfriend's equal... perhaps better! Now, I ask again... what else has the Freak told you... about himself... maybe." Erol paused at the look on Keira's face, and sighed. "Fine, have it your way. We'll call him Number Eleven, shall we?"
"Why don't you just call him by his name?" Keira demanded.
"Because he has no name." Erol said simply.
"Of course he's got a name!"
"Oh, you mean 'Jak'?" Erol asked. "Sorry to tell you, but that's not his name. He doesn't have a name. 'Jak's just something that he's called."
"What are you talking about?" Erol smiled evilly. "He has kept the most important secret in his whole life from his own girlfriend! A shame when so many other people know... the rat does for sure..."
"Well..." Keira began uncertainly. "I'm sure he has a reason for keeping secrets."
"No other reason than his own inability to accept responsibility." Erol said. "I'm sure he has a very good reason for not telling you the truth."
"The truth about what?" Keira asked.
"The truth about his true identity, about his lineage, about his last name." Erol said. "I would tell you to ask him yourself when he gets here, but that will not be possible, I'm afraid."
"Why?" Keira asked.
"Because there must be no witnesses." Erol said. "As much as it irks me to kill you, it must be done. Don't fear though, Jak will see you. After all, I did promise that he would see you, and I always keep my word. But I never promised that he'd see you alive and well."
"No!" Keira yelled in horror.
Erol hit her across the face with his real hand. "Shut up, bitch! You want everyone to hear you?" He raised his other, mechanical hand to bash Keira's head in... to kill her.
"Jak!" Keira cried, afraid that she would never see him again.
Erol's hand began to swing down, but it never connected. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly a strange being stood before Keira, holding Erol's mechanical arm at bay.
"What the?" Erol had never seen anything like it. The entire being seemed to glow with its own light, the most dazzling light Keira had ever seen.
Suddenly, the new being growled and, using its incredible strength since it was dwarfed by Erol, threw the mechanical monstrosity into the nearest wall. Erol hit hard and created a dent, but he got right back up, glaring at the being before him.
"Touch her like that, and I'll kill you." The being hissed.
"You're a Precursor, aren't you?" Erol hissed. "Precursors can't interfere!"
"I am not a Precursor." The being hissed dangerously. "What the matter? You don't recognize your own cousin?"
Erol blinked. "You!" And then he laughed. "Well, it seems you're an even bigger freak than I thought!"
The being ignored him, instead, it walked over to Keira. "Don't worry, Keira, I'll protect you with my life."
The being seemed to be made out of light. The eyes radiated with a brilliant light that dazzled Keira. It wasn't a Precursor, it was an elf. Then, within those amazing eyes, Keira saw a spark of something familiar. "Jak?" She gasped.
The being, Light Jak, smiled. "Yes. I'm here now."
Then Keira looked behind him. "Jak, look out!"
Erol had tried to sneak up on Jak and catch him off guard while he was busy with Keira. With a thought, Jak brought up his Light Shield to encompass both himself and Keira.
Erol's mechanical fist hit the Light Eco shield and was blown back by the Light Eco. However, Jak winched heavily as if the blow had made contact with his own flesh.
Erol got up again. "So... the Dark Makers were right about this whole kidnapping business. For years, I've tried to discover your weakness. The Baron and I attacked your body and your mind, only to find it armored too well. Then the Dark Makers taught me that the cunning warrior attacks neither the body nor the mind, but the heart. Yes... your heart is your weakness."
"Keira... give me strength." Jak said. With that, he dropped the Light Shield and walked up to Erol. "So, Cousin, this is how the War of the Champions is to end? The two Champions face off one final time. The question is... which one of us believes in our cause more."
"No, it's which one of us will survive!" Erol hissed. "Your line is tainted, full of weaklings! Out of our fighting ancestors, Martin should have won! He would have been strong enough to deliver the final blow!" Erol growled, materializing a large spiked mace out of Dark Eco. "You ancestor, praised by the world, was weak. And so are you with your light tricks!"
"Which will win? The Darkness, or Balance?" Light Jak asked, summoning his Light Broadsword.
"The Darkness swallows all light, you must know this!" Erol yelled.
"You're wrong!" Light Jak said. "For so long, the only thing I did know was the Darkness, and I believed, like you do, that Darkness conquers." Light Jak looked back at Keira. "But now my Light has returned to me, and I understand the need for balance."
"Enough talk!" Erol roared. "Let's fight!" He lifted the mace into a readier position.
"So be it." Jak raised the Light Sword.
With a roar, Erol rushed at the Light being, his mace raised to strike his enemy down.
Jak quickly raised his own weapon to block the crushing blow, both weapons sparked dangerously as the opposite forces clashed.
Keira could only watch in horror as her lover fought for his life.
It was immediately clear as the two enemies fought back and forth across the room, their weapons moving so quickly that Keira could see nothing but a blur, why they were both chosen as Champions. They appeared to be pretty evenly matched. Neither seemed able to land a blow or keep the advantage for long.
Then it happened, the first Channeled attack. Erol leapt back from Jak and sent a blast of Dark Eco straight at his chest. Light Jak made no move to avoid the blast and it connected. Keira screamed as he was engulfed in the Dark Eco blast.
"Ha!" Erol laughed, believing that he had won.
Then the Dark Eco cleared, revealing Light Jak, who was completely unharmed. "You fool." Light Jak said. "While I am a creature of Light, so am I a creature of the Darkness. Dark Eco won't hurt me... but Light Eco will hurt you." Light Jak reached into his pocket and pulled out a Light Crystal. "My turn." Jak began to glow even more with the power of pure Light Eco. The glow concentrated on his hands, and Light Jak grinned. He recognized this power, even though it had been three years since he last used it.
He held out his hand, palm out and a concussive blast of concentrated Light Eco launched at Erol, a blast too big too dodge, the same attack he used to destroy Gol and Maia's robot. Erol couldn't dodge the blast and it caught him in the chest, threw him into the nearest wall hard. Then he fell to the ground, spare pieces hanging off his body, but he was still alive, against all odds.
Jak walked over calmly and place the Light Blade against Erol's mechanical neck. Robot or not, Erol would not be able to function without a head.
Despite his position, Erol laughed. "Our ancestors were once in this position. What will you do, Number Eleven? Will you exhibit the same weakness as your ancestor, or will you deliver the final blow?"
Jak didn't give any verbal reply, he raised the weapon to take off Erol's head.
Once Erol realized that Jak was, in fact, going to kill him, he realized that he had to get out of there. So Erol, with great effort of his broken mechanical body, lifted a huge foot and kicked Jak in the gut.
It was Jak's turn to fly into a wall. "Jak!" Keira screamed.
Erol got up with great effort and moved to a nearby teleporter. "This isn't over yet, Freak!" He limped into the teleport machine.
Jak got out of the wall and saw that Erol was gone. "Damn! He got away!"
"Jak, over here!" Keira called.
Light Jak turned towards Keira. "Keira! Are you all right?" He ran over and inspected the large bruise on her face where Erol had hit her.
"It hurts a little." Keira admitted.
"Hold still." Light Jak said lovingly. He raised one glowing hand and pressed it to her cheek. It instantly began to feel better. In fact, within seconds, Jak had healed her. As soon as she was healed, he tore off the restraints that held her.
As soon as Keira was free, she leapt into her lover's arms. "Jak, what happened to you? How are you Channeling Light Eco?"
Jak looked down at his glowing hands, and then let the light fade away until he was in his normal form. "A gift from Tiatin." Jak said.
"Who?" Keira asked. She had met Tiatin, but she didn't know that his name was Tiatin.
"The Precursor we rescued." Jak explained.
"Oh Jak!" Keira exclaimed, pressing herself up against him. "I've never been so scared in my life! I thought Erol would kill us!"
Jak held her close, offering her what little comfort he had left to offer. "It's all right. I'm here now." He breathed into her hair. "And I think Erol will think twice before he tries to kidnap my friends... that is... if he somehow survives my Light attack."
"Jak..." Keira pulled away slightly to look him in the eyes. "Before you arrived, Erol told me that you were... keeping secrets from me. And now... I can only accept it as the truth."
"What did Erol tell you?" Jak asked.
"He said that you really have no name and you've been keeping your past a secret from me."
Jak swore. "How did he know?"
"Jak, what have you been hiding?" Keira asked.
Jak looked down at her and simply pulled her into an embrace. "Keira, I love you, and it pains me to have to keep secrets from you. But I simply can't allow this one to get out. Too many people know already. If people found out... it could destroy my future. It would destroy both of us... if I told you my last name..." Jak paused. "I fear that you would see me as a different person. Keira, no matter what my name is, I'll always be your Jak... and I'll always love you."
Keira pulled away. "Oh Jak..." She kissed him lovingly. "I'm sorry. I should trust you."
"I'll tell you when we're both ready." Jak whispered as he kissed her. "I promise."
"Jak." Keira looked up at him and smiled. "I'm so glad I've met you."
Jak smiled and pulled her back into the embrace. As Jak held Keira in his arms, he wondered how much longer he could keep his secret from her. If she knew his last name was Mar... that he was the long-lost nameless heir to the throne of Haven City... that he was the last living descendent of Mar... his whole life could fall apart. Could Keira still think of him as 'Jak' when she knew that he was Prince Mar, heir to the Throne of Haven City?
LES: The End of Act II: The Fight For The City! Now, very sadly, and with a heavy heart, I move on to the third and final act of my masterpiece: 'War Of The Champions'!
