Chapter LI: The Final Battle, Part I

LES: That's right! A two-part climax! You are now sitting on top of the roller coaster! Are you ready to take the pludge?

Muse: They are just at the top of the first drop on a roller coaster? Is it just me, or did the trip up the hill take a REALLY long time?

LES: It seems longer when you're on the thing. Besides, that's just basic story structure. First the beginning, than the rising action (all that before was rising action), then the climax, then falling action, and then the resolution. See, I actually paid attention in English class! Back to roller coasters... you know that being right on top of that hill, looking down is the best part!

Muse: Shut up and type.


Jak suddenly appeared in the huge cargo hold of the Dark Ship Veelen. And, it definitely was huge for it was twice the size of the chamber they had just left. Remember... Icarath's voice said. The Precursor fleet will attack that ship in a few minutes. Be clear of the ship by then.

Once Icarath's suffocating presence was gone, Jak looked around the cargo hold and gasped. This hold held the biggest Dark Makers he had seen yet. If the true Dark Maker leader was more monstrous than these monsters, then he must truly be the most terrifying being in the universe.

Daxter voice Jak's thoughts. "If these nasty things ever get set loose on the planet, it's finished!"

"Let's hope I don't have to match up against one." Jak said, watching the monsters stomp around on six large legs, each one over a hundred feet tall with a huge main body. It's cockpit-like head sat on the end of a long, thin neck, and there were simply hundreds of them!

Jak looked down towards the end of the large platform that he stood on to see Erol looking down at the army below. He definitely looked stronger than last Jak saw him with Light Eco Poisoning. He had been cured, and looked more powerful than ever. Jak ran up to him.

"All of these Dark Makers at my command!" Erol said as Jak ran up and came to a stop just behind him. "Just think what I can do!" He heard Jak and turned around. "You!" He hissed.

"Me." Jak said simply, pacing in front of Erol like an animal itching to attack. "A pity the Light Eco didn't kill you. I guess we are more alike than we would want to admit. Both of us used to a certain extent by powers more powerful than us, both nearly died of Eco Poisoning, both... Eco Freaks." Jak said as Daxter jumped off his shoulder.

"I am nothing like you!" Erol roared. "You are starting to sound like a Precursor! You share their condescending attitude! The high and mighty Precursors, the self-proclaimed rulers of the universe! Well, guess what, Freak, the time of the Precursors is ending, and the time of the Dark Maker is beginning! You..." Erol paused. "You are on the wrong side of this War."

"Funny." Jak said, continuing to pace. "I was about to tell you the same thing." Suddenly, there was an explosion and the entire ship shook with the force of the shock wave. Jak regained his balance and knew instantly that this was the Precursor attack. "The Precursors are here. Without shields, the Precursor's weapons will tear through this ship like wet paper." Another explosion, and Jak stopped pacing finally. "You're through, Erol!" Jak roared. "Even if we both die!" Jak launched himself bodily at Erol with a battle-cry. He tackled Erol and they both went toppling over the edge of the platform, to fall to the ground miles below.

However, Erol grabbed onto the edge of the platform with his mechanical hand and stopped his fall. Jak wasn't so lucky and continued to fall to the ground far below.

Daxter leaned over the edge, but Jak had fallen from view. "JAK!" He yelled.

"Good-bye, rat!" Erol hissed, and then the rodent received a surprise. Huge things expanded from Erol's shoulders and unfolded into huge bat-like wings. He took to the air and dove down to one of the lumbering Dark Makers. He jumped into the cockpit head. A cargo door opened and Erol, in the Dark Maker's body, jumped through and began to descend to the planet surface far below.

The air was being sucked out through the hole and Daxter struggled to keep from falling into space. Then, he lost this footing and fell back... right into someone's arms. It was Light Jak, his huge wings folded close to his body to avoid catching the wind. He had obviously flown back up to the platform. "Let's go, Dax! It's time to get out of here!" Light Jak said.

"The Warp Gate!" Daxter yelled over the wind, and pointed to a Warp Gate that was at the other end of the platform.

So Light Jak began to make his way towards the Gate. Not surprisingly, his wings caused the biggest trouble. Every once in a while, they would catch the wind and set him back several feet; but as long as he kept them tight to his body, they didn't cause him much trouble. Finally, they made it to the Warp Gate and crawled through.


After a short, tingly trip, Light Jak found that he was back in the lovely heat of the desert, just in front of the Spargus Gates. Daxter appeared a second later on the ground beside him.

"We're alive! We did it!" Daxter celebrated and jumped into the air.

Light Jak watched as a large meteor-like object streaked towards them. It could only be one thing... "Not yet." Light Jak said simply as the monster crashed into the sands, creating a large crater. The Dark Maker Beast unfurled itself and climbed out of the hole it had made.

Erol sat in the 'head' of the monster, hundreds of feet up in the air. "You will all die at my hands!" The Dark Maker Champion yelled, stomping his mighty way over towards Jak and Spargus.

Light Jak stood up in a flash, wings spread wide and two Light Swords in his hands. "It's headed for the City! We've got to defend it..." Light Jak paused. "For Damas... for my father..."

"The last charge of the Dark and Light Brigade!" Daxter jumped onto Light Jak's shoulder. "Let's do it, partner!"

"To the end..." Light Jak looked down at the weapons he held. "Which will die? The angel? Or the demon?" He paused, then recited the final line of the Angel poem. "Only the Angel can tell."

With that, Light Jak took to the air and flew straight at Erol. "Your Light tricks won't work on me now, Freak!" Erol roared. "The Darkness protects me now!"

Light Jak flew straight at Erol's head, but the great Dark Maker swung its head to intercept him, so Light Jak was forced to take drastic measures to dodge. He folded the feathery wings against him body and fell twenty feet and out of harm's way.

"Come out of that machine and face me, Erol!" Light Jak roared.

"I don't think so!" Erol yelled back. "You see, I hold the advantage here, and I'm not too keen to give it up!"

"Fine. Then I'm going to have to make you come out of there." Light said said. He folded his wings and dived under the Dark Maker's body and slammed both swords into its underbelly.

The Dark Maker roared and Light Jak removed the weapons and a torrent of Dark Eco burst forth. Then, as to prove the Dark Maker was part machine, part creature, a gun popped out of the creature's underbelly and began to fire large bullets of Dark Eco at the Eco Angel. He may have been immune to the effects of Dark Eco, but bullets that size would leave him nothing but a bloody hole. The angel took evasive action; with a flap of his massive wings, Light Jak flew behind the gun and cut it off at its base.

Erol roared with laughter. "Such weak attacks! You'll never destroy my powerful Beast like that! It runs on Dark Eco, and has an immunity to Light Eco! If that's the best you can do, I suggest you give up now!"

Suddenly, a mass of tentacles popped out of nowhere. They wrapped themselves around Light Jak, taking care to pin his wings to his body and began to smash the elf repeatedly against the rock-hard underside of the Dark Maker.

"Had enough?" Erol mocked. Jak merely growled. Each time he was smashed against the Dark Maker, it hurt like hell and several bones broke. The Light Eco would heal the wounds, only to have the bones broken again by the next hit. "Fine!" The tentacles tossed Light Jak down towards the desert sands. The angel, whose one wing had broken during the last hit, was not able to regain his flight and hit the ground hard, forcing the air out of his lungs. Jak sat up swiftly, his one broken wing hanging uselessly against the ground. His wings may not have been a normal part of his body, but they could be injured, and it hurt like hell. He had only begun to heal the wing when the next threat became known.

"Jak!" Daxter yelled in warning, pointing up. One of the large feet had lifted up to step on him with the hope of turning him into a two-dimensional object. He barely had the time to move away, causing more pain to shoot through his healing wing, before he was crushed.

But the pain didn't last long. His wing healed and he took to the air again to avoid the stomping feet. He flew up again and landed on the top of the Dark Maker's body. The head twisted around to glare at Light Jak. "Don't you ever give up?" Erol demanded.

"No. I can be quite persistent when my life is on the line. Just ask the Metal-Head Leader when you met him in Hell." Jak said, conjuring two new swords since he had lost the last two.

"Now, be realistic! There's no way you can beat me! I'm all powerful!" Suddenly, a laser shot from the Dark Maker's 'nose' and flew at Light Jak. Within seconds, the angel brought up his shield and the laser hit the shield, but didn't cause any damage. The laser stopped when Erol realized that he wasn't going to get through Light Jak's shield with a laser. Instead, he took a more direct approach, namely slamming the nose of the Dark Maker onto Light Jak.

Light Jak winched heavily and almost let the shield drop as the blow hit; the force of the blow caused a large dent to appear in the top of the Dark Maker.

Then Light Jak noticed the Dark Eco tanks behind the Dark Maker's head. The thing ran on Dark Eco! So if he destroyed the power source, he would destroy the beast!

Erol slammed the Dark Maker's nose on Light Jak again, but the shield held again. But, as soon as Erol moved away, Light Jak dropped the shield and took to the air, a Light sword flashing in his grip... the sword sang.

Erol was obviously surprised by this frontal assault. "What the...?"

Light Jak flew behind the Dark Maker's head and struck at the tanks, cutting them in half. Dark Eco cascaded towards the ground and the Dark Maker began to topple.

Light Jak folded his wings against his body and fell to the ground, the angel spread his wings to stop his fall a foot from the ground. The Dark Maker hit the ground and exploded. Light Jak saw the explosion rushing towards him and raised his shield a split second before the fire engulfed him. The explosions lasted for some time. But they finally stopped and Light Jak could once again see the remains of the Dark Maker Beast. Jak let his Light Side fall away and he moved towards the wreckage of the fallen beast to face his enemy... and his final destiny.


LES: Don't worry, even though the destruction of the Terra-former is the end of the game, it is not the end of my climax! So, Muse, was this battle up to snuff?

Muse: Well... I think it's better than any battle you've done yet...

LES: ... That's a good thing, right?

Muse: It's a good thing.

LES: (elated) Yay!