Chapter XIL: To The Palace Ruins
LES: You know what this means? We are reaching the end of my story, even though there are several chapters and loose ends to tie up yet. Sorry if this chapter is short, but I want to devote an entire Chapter to the events in the ruins and the Catacombs.
But Light Jak did not suspect that, at that very moment, Tiatin was drawing the deadly Light Eco out of Erol's body. In fact, he was more concerned with the figure that stood atop the roof of the Freedom League HQ. It was Keira, and she did not seem to notice him. Of course, she didn't realize that he could approach from the sky.
Light Jak flew over her head and landed softly behind her. She didn't appear to hear him. "Don't worry, your guardian angel is here." He said.
Keira brightened up instantly. "Jak!" She spun around, but she stopped and stared, for Jak had not lost his wings. "Jak?" She repeated, amazed. "You've got... wings!"
Light Jak laughed. "Quite a surprise, isn't it? The Demon is really an angel."
Keira continued to stare at the wings on his back. He must've had a eighteen-foot wingspan. "Are they real?"
"Yes, they're real." With supreme gentleness, Light Jak extended one of his wings and brushed the tip of a single feather against her cheek.
She giggled as the feather tickled her. "Oh Jak, you never cease to amaze me."
Daxter rolled his eyes. "Oh brother..." He sighed as he jumped off Light Jak's shoulder.
It seemed that Daxter made the right decision as Keira threw herself into Light Jak's arms. He caught her easily and pressed his lips against hers. After several seconds, Light Jak got the feeling that they were being watched. He took his mouth away from Keira for a second to find Daxter staring at them.
"Don't mind me." Daxter said.
Light Jak merely smiled and spread his wing over himself and Keira. One wing was more than sufficient to cover them. After all, everyone from the meanest peasant to the greatest King deserved a few moments of privacy.
Some time later after Jak had returned to normal and after Daxter had left the two to be alone, they sat on the roof together, simply looking down at the City.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Keira asked suddenly.
"What? That we could love each other so much?" Jak asked with a smile.
The she-elf elbowed Jak's side lightly. "No... it's just amazing how things have happened this way... all of it." She moved her hand in a vague motion in an attempt to convey everything that had happened in the last three years. Then she smiled over at Jak. "Has love blinded you to everything else?"
"If that is a crime, then I plead guilty." Jak said.
"Jak!" She leaned up against his shoulder. "After all this stuff that's happened to us and between us... we're still together and in love."
"That's what I meant!" Jak said, referring to his earlier answer. After a slight pause, Jak spoke again. "Remember, when we were children back in Sandover?" He asked, and Keira nodded. "Back when we were still brother and sister... even then, I loved you."
Keira laughed. "We were only children! We played on the beach, we went swimming in the ocean, we went into the forest against daddy's wishes. We were only children."
"For Precursor soul-mates, it didn't matter." Jak said. "We may not be Precursors, but I know in my heart that we are soul-mates."
"Hmm..." Keira hummed. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe we are meant to be..."
"We are meant to be." Jak said firmly. "I know it every time I kiss you, and I knew for sure that night..."
"That night." Keira repeated. "Will we ever do it again?"
Jak stared at her. "If I live... more than likely." Jak smiled down at her. "I love you, Keira... until the day I die..."
"No, Jak." Keira said. "Forever."
Jak smiled. "Forever." He agreed.
Keira suddenly pulled away from Jak and pulled something out of her pocket. It was a small, blue scarf... one that she must've found somewhere. "Here, I want you to wear this." She tied the scarf around Jak's right arm, just above the elbow... it was a maiden's colors for her chosen warrior or Champion.
"Keira?" Jak began.
"I pray that you'll be victorious in your upcoming fight." Keira said, the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "I know that you'll do everything in your power to win."
Jak took Keira into his arms, and she began to cry into his chest. He let her, knowing that she was extremely worried about him. Jak wished that he could still let tears fall from his eyes. But he had only cried three times in the last three years.
He couldn't cry now, the ability had been bled out of him in prison. So he only held the woman he loved as she let tears fall for her lover, envying her that she managed to maintain herself in this City when he could not.
"Keira... no matter what the future holds... no matter what happens to me... I'll always love you." Jak touched the scarf on his arm. "And thank you, Keira, thank you for believing in me and loving me when no one else would."
Keira pulled her lover into a long, passionate kiss which he gladly returned. "Maybe, someday, you'll find a way to get rid of your scars... not just the ones on your back, but the ones on your heart and soul."
"Maybe." Jak said. "Can there be redemption for demonic murderers?"
"What about fallen angels?" Keira asked.
"I don't know." Jak said. "This angel has committed terrible crimes." Jak then recited the short poem that Onin had told him long ago:
"The Angel lives in Heaven
White without a Stain
The Angel falls out of Heaven
Into a life of Pain
The Angel yearns for Heaven
But instead is stuck in Hell
Will the Angel get back to Heaven?
Only the Angel can Tell."
Jak sighed. "It's true. I want things to just go back to the way they used to be... but I can't see how."
"Only the Angel can tell..." Keira recited. "I think that says that you are in control of your own destiny."
Jak couldn't help but laugh. "The ruler of Spargus... he told me the same exact thing."
"Spargus..." Keira paused. "What's it like?"
"Very different from Haven." Jak said. "Since it is in the desert, it is usually very hot, well into the hundreds every day. But you get used to it. Spargus is only four years old, so there are very few 'native born' Spargains. Most of the people are banished like me or people who left Haven behind for one reason or another. Even though Spargus is made up of Haven's scum, there is no crime. My King is able to rule with a firm hand without becoming oppressive like Praxis." Jak said the last sentence without thinking.
"Your King?" Keira asked.
Jak suddenly realized his mistake in saying 'My King.' "Keira... He is My King now." Jak said, pulling her into an embrace. "I have sworn my loyalty and fealty to him, and him alone. I'm a legal citizen of Spargus and vassal to the King of Spargus... unlike here..."
"But... Ashelin has let you back into the City!" Keira said.
Jak didn't even want to hear talk of Ashelin right now, not when he was pretty sure that she had a crush on him. "This is only temporary." Jak said slowly. "As soon as everything is back under control, the City will scream for my re-banishment. After all, as far as they're concerned, I'm nothing more than a murderer, a Dark Eco Freak that would kill you as soon as look at you. An elf that let in the Metal-Heads and could possibly be the Metal-Head Leader."
"Maybe... you should secretly make sure things don't get under control." Keira said softly.
Jak stared at his lover. "Are you saying I should sabotage our War efforts?" Jak demanded. "I think I'm a bad influence on you." He shook his head. "It's no good. If I even get connected to a crime now, I'll be thrown back out to Spargus... and I'll never be able to see you again if we don't make the right arrangements."
"What should we do?" Keira asked, pressing herself up against her lover.
"There is a way." Jak said. "Keira, when the time comes, go with me to Spargus."
"What?" Keira asked.
"There is the problem of the trials, but I'm sure I could work something out with my King. I know it seems terrible to move away from Haven... you've got a life here, your father is here. But I can't have a life here anymore. It's the only way for us to be together."
Keira was speechless. "I... I don't know, Jak."
"Then don't answer yet." Jak said, taking her face in his hands. "And I won't tell you 'if you love me...' If you decide to stay in Haven City I'll... respect your wishes." He pressed a short kiss to her lips.
After he pulled away, he got up and walked away, leaving Keira's mind in turmoil. He was right, she knew it. He was trapped. He'd have to help Haven win the war, and when he did, they'd send him straight back out into the desert. Like Jak said, she had a life here in Haven, but he didn't. His life in Haven City was over.
"Precursors..." Keira wondered out loud. "What should I do?"
As soon as Jak entered the Haven Control room, he was confronted by Daxter. "Hey, lover-boy, about time! You missed a call from Samos. He asked you to go to Onin's tent."
Jak stared at Daxter. "Onin's tent? But wasn't the Bazaar destroyed by the Palace's collapse?"
Daxter rolled his eyes. "Onin's a freaking physic! She had her tent moved weeks before the Palace collapsed. It's by the old fortress now." He suddenly saw the scarf that was tied around Jak's right arm. "Hey, what's that?"
Jak looked down at it and smiled. "A gift from a very, very good friend."
A short time later, Jak and Daxter pulled up to Onin's hut and was greeted by Samos, Onin and Pecker. "Jak, we are in serious trouble." Samos said, not really looking at Jak.
Onin began to sign. "Onin says that she has looked into your future and finds it clouded black with uncertainty. Fate has been twisted by beings more powerful than she has ever seen in her many years!" Pecker translated. "Someone... or something has awakened deep in the Catacombs. One thing is sure of your future, and that is that Jak should go down into those Catacombs to find out what is down there."
"How much you wanna bet this is going to end with us running and screaming?" Daxter asked as he elbowed Jak's head.
Onin and Pecker ignored him. Onin continued to sign. "Onin says that you must make it through the Palace ruins. Onin says that you much reach the bottom of the Catacombs. Onin says Pecker will accompany you down there... ARK! What did you say, old woman?" Pecker waved a hand before Onin's blind, staring eyes.
"You will be Onin's eyes, and Jak's wisdom." Samos said. "You must do this!"
Pecker growled. "AUGH! Fine! I'll go! But I am gone the moment that things get sticky!"
Onin began to sign again, and Daxter noticed it. "What's she saying now?"
Pecker looked back at Onin and watched her for a few seconds. "It is a message to Jak. She says that it is time to repay your debt..."
"My debt?" Jak asked, confused.
Pecker ignored him. "And she also says to steel your will, because once you go to the Catacombs, you will find an answer you've searched for your entire life... and the answer may not be what you expect..."
"An answer? To what question?" Jak asked.
Onin shook her head. The meaning couldn't be more clear. 'I have no more to say to you.'
After several seconds, Pecker got everyone's attention again. "Well, I'm going to fly ahead. I'll meet you when the coast is clear." Pecker flew out.
"Good luck, my boy." Samos said, and then he added. "For everyone's sake."
Jak looked at him for a few seconds in mutual understanding. He nodded. "I won't fail you, Samos, or her." And then he walked out of the tent.
The way to the Palace ruins was only by finding your way through the ruins of the once grand Mar's Stadium and what remained of Main Town. However, almost as soon as Jak got past the barrier that separated him from the Stadium, he ran into a slight Metal-Head problem. Of course, in this case, 'slight' meant huge Crab-Heads and Metal-Mantises, which are the bigger, more dangerous types than your average garden-variety Metal-Head. There were also a lot of them...
"The only hombres tough and crazy enough to take on these things are the Wastelanders!" Daxter spoke up.
Jak blinked. "Dax! You're a genius!" Jak pulled out the beacon and pushed the large button in the center. Nothing happened. He pressed it again, but nothing happened.
"That thing's worth about as much as something you'd get from a broke down pawn shop in South Town!" Daxter said.
Jak shrugged, and put the beacon away, and went to take care of the Metal-Heads himself.
An hour later, Jak ended up just on the edge of the Palace ruins. He found Pecker sitting on the ruins of a once large building. "There you are! I've molted three times already just waiting for you two! Onin says we must get through the Palace ruins, but I think... oh oh!" Pecker suddenly took off.
Jak spun around and gasped in horror. Three huge Dark Maker satellites floated in the air behind him. One Dark Maker had almost killed him, three was a hopeless cause.
"Jak..." Daxter said as the Dark Makers rattled threateningly. Jak backed against the rocks. "Before it's all over... I just wanted you to know... riding on your shoulder... although it is kinda bony... and uncomfortable... well..." Daxter sniffed. "You've been a good pal."
"You too, Dax." Jak said. "These adventures... they've been great." He then prepared to meet his destiny as the first Dark Maker roared.
However, the wall behind him exploded and something soared over his head and rammed into the Dark Makers, destroying them instantly. The thing came to a stop and Jak saw that it was none other than King Damas riding in a heavily armored Spargain vehicle. "Did somebody call for an army?" He asked.
"Well, you're a long way from the desert." Jak looked at the remains of the Dark Makers. The young elf laughed. "I thought you said a smart Warrior never takes his opponent head-on?"
Damas smiled. "You actually remembered his old man's banter... like a true vassal, I suppose. About that... that actually depends on how hard your skull is. I'd say you and I are both rather head-strong." Jak jumped into the vehicle and made a move to switch weapon controls to his side. "What are you doing?" Damas asked.
"I... I take the guns, right?" Jak asked uncertainly.
"Why don't you show me how well you drive." Damas said. "I expect a lot from a man who won the racing Championship of Haven City."
"Really?" Jak asked.
"Sure, why not?"
"Cause Jak's an insane driver and he's likely to be the death of us." Daxter said as Jak took control of the vehicle while Damas resigned himself to the guns.
"Let's do this!"
