Rebel: Here's chapter two. Sorry about how long it took. Usually I post a lot faster, but hopefully the chapter will make up for forcing you to wait. Just to let you know, the ruins refer to that area where you chased leaper lizards in Jak 3, and I made all of the Marauder vehicles Gila Stompers like the one you use in the metal head nest in Jak 3. Anyways, enjoy and don't forget to review. Reviews make me happy.
2. Hide and Seek
Max awoke to an annoying beeping in his ear. At first he couldn't remember anything, but then it all came back to him. Max turned off the alarm he had set on his watch, and sat up.
"Good morning, everyone!" Max called with sarcasm. Grace yawned and stretched as best she could in her seat. Derek gave a groan as he got up. He'd fallen asleep sitting by the glow stick pile. Kara was already up and rummaging through her stuff. She pulled out some food and passed it around.
"Blech! This stuff tastes like chalk!" Max complained.
"They're energy packs, and between you and me, I think they are made of chalk." Kara mumbled as she took a bite.
After everyone had eaten, they began to haul the bags and covers out of the cave entrance. Grace pulled out a final sheet of tarp, and climbed out around the zoomer. She let out a low whistle as she inspected the back of the zoomer.
"Is the engine okay, Grace?" Derek called.
"There's so much sand I'm having trouble finding the engine." Grace replied. She began scooping some of the sand out. "Popping the hood probably wasn't the best idea."
"We had no choice, unfortunately." Derek said. "Do what you can. We'll figure something out."
Grace took a step back to survey the problem. This reminded her of when volcanic ash clogged the eco vents. The best thing to do was let the eco build up underneath. Eventually, the vent metal would start to absorb some of the eco, and repel the ash on its surface, clearing the vent.
"Hey Derek, got any Vulcan ammo?"
"Yeah, what's it for?" Derek asked.
"If I can get enough blue eco from that ammo coursing through the zoomer, I might be able to purge the engine." Grace said, brushing some more sand off the zoomer.
"Here." Derek said as he leaned out of the gap at the side of the zoomer. He tossed Grace a couple Vulcan cartridges.
"Thanks. Now stand back." Grace said. Derek disappeared into the cavern. Grace broke open the blue ammo using the butt of her morph gun which she'd brought out with her. As Grace started to channel the eco, Derek and Kara stepped back. Max, having heard none of what Grace had said, was leaning against the zoomer grill.
Grace stepped slightly to the side and laid a hand on the zoomer. The eco zipped through the metal frame, bits of dirt flying everywhere as the eco repelled it. The blue eco reached Max who was still slouching against the front of the zoomer, and sent him soaring across the cavern. Luckily, Max landed in the pile of blankets and tarps that had been taken out of the entrance. A second later Grace stuck her head around the zoomer.
"The engine's clear. You should've seen all the sand flying out. Is everyone okay?"
"Define okay." Max grumbled. He was attempting to free himself from the pile of blankets.
Derek chuckled. "Hey, Grace. Finish up. I want to start out early so the sun doesn't bake us to a crisp."
"Are we going to help Kara, then?" Grace asked. Derek nodded, and Grace gave him a little smile before disappearing behind the zoomer again.
"So this is it?" Derek asked Kara after he'd parked the zoomer next to the Sand Shark at the entrance to the ruins.
"Yes. Somewhere in this," Kara paused to kick a rock at her feet, "pile of rubble, there's a Precursor artifact. We'll have to spread out to find it." Kara handed Derek, Max, and Grace communicators that looked like beacons. "Call if you spot anything out of the ordinary."
Everyone went off in different directions.
It had been half an hour, and everyone was getting tired. Max had started up a conversation with Grace over the comm. link, and although Derek and Kara had reprimanded Max for using the line to chat, they were both secretly thankful for the distraction from the eerie silence of the ruins.
"Man, Grace, this is hopeless." Max complained over the comm.
"You just need to know where to look." Grace replied. She was only half listening to Max whining because she was busy checking out a little street she hadn't noticed before.
"What do you mean, Grace?"
"Simple." Grace said as she looked down a hole and a leaper lizard jumped out. "For some strange reason, you always find these Precursor artifacts in the last place you'd think to look."
"That doesn't really help me, Grace." Max said as he rested against a wall.
Grace took a moment to think about it as she flipped over a bit of broken plaster. "Think of it this way. It's a game of hide and seek. To find the other players, you have to ask yourself where you'd hide."
"Hey, Grace." Derek interrupted over the comm. link. "Looks like our game of hide and seek just gained a few extra players." Grace looked at her communicator, puzzled by what Derek meant. Then she heard the engines of several Marauder vehicles. Everyone ran back to the entrance of the ruins as the telltale clouds of dust drew closer.
"Look alive everyone!" Derek said as he pulled out morph guns. Kara whipped out a plasmite RPG (grenade launcher) and a vicious looking knife.
Then the first Marauder appeared. No one had noticed it come up around the ruins, and it now raced downhill toward the group of teenagers. Everyone jumped out of the way to avoid being run over. Grace disappeared into the ruins.
As the first Marauder drove past, Kara spun around and fired a grenade. The grenade landed in the back seat of the dune buggy, and detonated, sending the Gila Stomper flying into the air.
"Look out!" Derek shouted. Another Marauder was coming up behind Kara. Derek ran over and pushed Kara out of the way, grabbing her knife as he did so. As the Marauder drove up, Derek ducked out of the way, and slashed the tires. The Marauder lost control and skidded into a wall where it exploded.
Max had dodged into the ruins after Grace. Now he found himself on the opposite end of a street from a Marauder. As the Marauder spotted Max and prepared to run him over, Max pulled out his jet board.
"Time to kick it up a notch." Max said to himself. Max jumped on his board and started down the street. The Marauder did likewise, picking up speed. When it looked like the two were about to collide, Max jumped, landing on the car frame. Then he hit the small defense thrusters used to kill rodents and such. The seats of the vehicle caught on fire. Max jumped off the dune buggy and raced down the street, just avoiding the explosion as the fire reached the fuel tank.
Grace heard the explosions, but didn't dwell on it. Moments before the Marauder attack she had sensed something. It was a strange sensation; like she was being pulled toward the center of the ruins.
Now Grace came to a large open area that connected several roads. Grace spotted the subtle glow emanating from a small object in the center of the plaza. Grace stood there for what seemed like ages, entranced by the steady light. She snapped out of it as the sound of engines reached her ears again. A Marauder had entered the ruins to search for anyone who might be hiding. Now the Gila Stomper raced down one of the intersecting streets.
Grace realized it would crush what was obviously the Precursor artifact they'd been searching for. Grace acted quickly and ran across the street. She grabbed the artifact, and with the Marauder vehicle only feet away to her right and closing, she dove out of the way.
Grace tumbled across the sand as the Marauder drove down the street and began to turn. Grace got up and slipped the artifact which looked like a sphere into her pocket. Then she jumped back into the middle of the road and began to taunt the Marauder.
"You call that driving, Sewer Breath? A three year-old could do better!" The dune buggy turned to face Grace, and revved its engine.
"Bring it on, Numbskull! Your mother was a hiphog!" Grace shouted. The Marauder floored the gas.
Grace jumped out of the way again, this time the vehicle passing so close Grace's heel scraped the side. As she landed, Grace pulled out her blaster and fired at the retreating Gila Stomper. Against all odds, Grace hit the almost impossible target she had aimed for, the exhaust. The shot went through the pipe, and a second later, the dune buggy exploded from the inside out.
Grace took a moment to observe the flaming wreckage until she heard muffled calls. She pulled out her communicator.
"Grace, are you there?" the voice said again. It was Derek.
"Yeah. Is everyone okay?" Grace asked. An image of Max flashed through her mind which startled Grace, but she just told herself she was thinking of Max because she knew him best.
"We're all fine. I can't say the same for those Marauders." Derek remarked. I'm guessing you caused that last blast. Judging from the morning sun and the fire from that last explosion…we're north and slightly west of you at the edge of the ruins. Let's regroup."
"Gotcha. I'll be right there." Grace said, and slipped her communicator back in its pocket.
Grace returned to the ruin entrance to find Derek blushing ferociously and the others laughing. From the shade of red on Derek's face, Grace figured Max had made some embarrassing comment about Derek needing a girlfriend, but she didn't ask.
"So what's our plan?" Grace asked.
"Yes, well..." Derek cleared his throat as much to regain his composure as to hush the others. "There were other Marauders, but they fled when they saw the explosions. It won't be long before they come back though."
"We can't leave!" Kara protested. "This may be our only chance to find that Precursor artifact!"
"No problem, guys." Grace said, withdrawing the artifact from her pocket. She tossed it to Kara who caught it with one hand and examined it.
"Odd piece of scrap isn't it?" Kara said. "It doesn't seem to have a purpose, but someone went to the trouble of detailing it very finely." Kara held up the half-sphere for everyone to see.
A series of rings decorated the round side of the device, growing as they reached the edge, like ripples on water. On the flat side, a large piece of crystal took up most of the space. The crystal had been cut so it was flat like a mirror surface, and its rim was round. Around the crystal's edge there were runes.
"Hey, Grace. Read the inscription. I'm kinda far-sighted." Kara said and tossed the device back to Grace. Everyone gathered around as she read.
"Light shines brightest in the dark." Grace said. As soon as she did so, wisps of white mist formed on the crystal's surface and twisted around each other until they formed the seal of Mar.
"Why would it…?" Kara looked up at Grace. Peeking out from under the cloak Grace was wearing; Kara could see the tattoo of Mar's seal. "I never realized that's who you were." Kara said softly. Grace raised her head to meet Kara's gaze.
"Don't get any ideas now. " Kara said with a little grin. "You aren't getting any special treatment from me." Grace smiled back.
"Now, regarding that useless piece of Precursor junk," Kara turned away slightly. "It doesn't seem to do anything, at least, not anything useful so I don't need it." Kara turned her head back to Grace and winked. "And since you found it, it seems only fitting that you have to keep the piece of crap."
Grace chuckled. "I'll try not to complain too much."
"So what're we doing now?" Max asked.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry. I say we go get some real grub, not those nasty energy bars of mine." Kara said.
Max's stomach gave a little growl. "I'm all for that idea." he chuckled. Everyone headed for their vehicles.
As Derek strapped in, he called over to Kara, "Ladies first!"
"Haven't you heard? Chivalry is dead!" Kara shouted. Then she flashed him a sincere smile. "Not that it isn't appreciated. Now on to Spargus City!" Kara turned her Sand Shark around and began driving away, the zoomer close behind.
R: Hope you liked this chapter. I went to a lot of trouble describing the Precursor artifact because it's going to come in handy during the final book of the trilogy. Check out the preview about the final story at the bottom of my user page along with a lot of other stuff coming soon! Oh, and don't forget to review! (I sound like a broken record don't I?)